The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Angola Gherda Barreto said here on Tuesday that the country must lift the 5.5 million people still underfed to zero hunger to accomplish the 2030 agenda.

The FAO official was speaking at a webinar on rural women and the economy.

Barreto stressed that around 40.6 per cent of the population of Angola lives below the poverty line, particularly rural populations, Xinhua news agency reported.

For the FAO official to fulfil the 2030 agenda Angola must reach the so-called "Zero Hunger" challenge.

The United Nations 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals were adopted in 2015, to guide the development of the international community until 2030. The agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals and covers a wide range of issues, such as ending poverty and hunger.

On the other hand, she pointed out climate change as one of the causes of hunger in the southern African country.

In 2019, the drought in the country affected more than 400,000 people in 24 municipalities in the south region of the country, leaving the population, especially women, vulnerable to food security, the official stressed.

"All of these challenges are worrying, but the concern must lead us to action. We must transform these challenges into action plans for the labor, technological and financial inclusion of rural women, which include strategies to support their families," she underlined.

Barreto said six initiatives in favour of rural women are being implemented by Angolan in partnership with FAO, including agricultural field schools..