Associação de Escuteiros de Angola the Southern Zone of the Africa Region. Although Scouting is growing, the country is plagued by years of civil war and political unrest, and this is hindering development, especially in rural areas. Angolan Scouting was widespread in the colonial years, working closely with Portugal's Catholic Corpo Nacional de Escutas. When Angola gained its independence in 1975 and came under Marxist rule, Scouting was banned by that government. Scouting was officially started again in February 1991. In 1994, the interreligious "Associação Nacional de Escuteiros" and the Catholic "Associação de Escuteiros Católicos de Angola" merged forming the AEA. Today, Scouting includes an
Agriculture in Angola volume of coffee it had produced in the early 1970s, while production of cotton, tobacco and sugar cane had ceased almost entirely. Poor global market prices and lack of investment severely limited the sector after independence. The Angolan Civil War (1975-2002) and the consequent deterioration of the rural economy and neglect of the farming sector dealt the final blow to the country’s agricultural productivity. The departure of Portuguese farmers and traders from rural Angola after independence undermined agricultural productivity. In response the government set up state farms on land formerly owned by the Portuguese and established the National Company for