Out of the Woods

Once the world’s leading supply of robusta coffee, Uige is now relying on its forests and mineral deposits to lift the economy.

Before Africa was parcelled up and divided among European powers during the Berlin Conference in 1884, Uige was part of the Kongo Kingdom, which encompassed not only northern Angola, but also Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Uige now borders the Democratic Republic of Congo and shares the mineral wealth of its southern Shaba province, especially in cobalt and copper. However, the mineral reserves on the Angolan side of the border have yet to be exploited.

Uige was the heartland of Angola's coffee production during the colonial era. The province was divided into vast rocas (plantations) by the Portuguese who found the soil and climate ideal for robusta coffee.

In the years leading up to independence, Angola was exporting 400,000 tons of coffee per year (1972-3 figures), and the country was the world's main producer of robusta coffee. But war and mismanagement led to the collapse of coffee production after independence, with exports sinking to about one tenth of their former volume.

Dense rainforest covers much of Uige and the forest is already being exploited haphazardly for tropical hardwoods. Investment opportunities in this area are significant, especially as the local government is actively seeking funding, and incentives are being offered as part of the central government's new code of foreign investments.

Uige was the heartland of Angola’s coffee production during the colonial era.

During the height of the civil war, many people were driven off the land. But since the Lusaka Peace Accord in 1994, the area has become far more stable. Uige is now hoping to achieve self-sufficiency in food production, and with adequate investment, coffee production could take off once more.