Mine Free Cuanza Sul Province

APOPO will clear 4.28M square meters (sqm) of mine contaminated area in CS by the end of 2026. Ninety percent (90%) of the land APOPO clears will be used for agriculture or other development efforts within 1 year, thereby improving health, wellbeing, and local income. Support from agricultural development collaborators will help beneficiaries in up to three villages to increase the value of their products and improve livelihoods. APOPO’s proposed DGD program focuses on neglected rural areas of Cuanza Sul (CS), a province that is instrumental to Angola’s agricultural development efforts and overall economy. With the support granted from DG APOPO will demine half of the estimated mined areas in CS by 2026 4.28M sqm, alleviating daily fear and accident risk from more than 140K rural citizens and allowing for rapid expansion of small-holder farms. APOPO’s presence in mined CS areas facilitate it conducting explosive ordinance risk education (EORE) and linking unserved mine victims to existing rehabilitation and support services. APOPO’s Mine Free CS outcome will unlock important livelihood opportunities for impoverished small holder farmers in CS. Ninety percent (90%) of the land APOPO clears will be used for agriculture or other development efforts within 1 year, thereby improving health, wellbeing, and local income. Strategic collaborations with agricultural development partners, Through, a pilot project in up to 3 different villages, The Agriculture Development Institute, and the Samuel Base Cole Association will help vulnerable low-income rural communities take better advantage of newly demined areas and encourage them to conduct activities that are critical to Angola’s goal of being food independent and provide increased income. APOPO’s work in CS will also play a critical role for Angola working toward its Article 5 Mine Ban Convention (clear all know minefields in the country) goal. The use of mine detection animals will allow APOPO to complete the task at least 100% more cost effectively than if it was done by manual deminers (the status quo for other NGOs operating in the country) and encourage the scaling of its animal detection methods.