Senior Advisors in the office of the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Drs John Ulimwengu and Kamwanga Masankisa) are in Nigeria exploring areas of partnership with IITA.
The move is part of DR Congo’s efforts to transform its agricultural potential, create wealth and jobs for the rapidly growing youth population.
“DR Congo needs to create jobs for the increasing youth population and agriculture can create those jobs,” says Dr Ulimwengu, during a seminar presentation in IITA on Wednesday.
“Our estimate is that we need 1000 jobs annually to solve the growing unemployment,” he added.
Located in Central Africa, DR Congo has vast arable l and and a potential to feed the most of Africa. About 90 percent of the country’s population in the rural areas is engaged in agriculture. Furthermore, the country plays host to more than 50 percent of Africa’s surface water.
“Yet the country depends on food imports, and this is not good for the country,” Dr Ulimwengu said.
“We hope that collaborating with IITA will help us advance and bring benefits of agricultural research to our country,” he added.
Dr Nteranya Sanginga, IITA Director General pledged the commitment of IITA to collaborate with the government of DR Congo.
“We are ready to work with you and other countries in Africa to see how we can increase agricultural productivity and engage the youths in the sector so that they have decent jobs,” Dr Sanginga said.
Last year, DR Congo gave IITA a grant of $3m to help support youth engagement in agriculture. The mineral-rich country is optimistic that a partnership with IITA would help accelerate its agricultural development akin to what has happened in Nigeria. In context, IITA’s Research-for-Development model has contributed in making Nigeria the world’s largest producer of cassava, cowpea and yams. Research on soybean has also been accelerated with a significant increase in domestic utilization of the crop.
Drs Ulimwengu and Masankisa, who arrived Nigeria on Monday, took a tour of IITA campus, and visited labs, the IITA Business Incubation Platform, IITA Youth Agripreneurs’ fish ponds, fish hatchery, postharvest unit, International Livestock Research Institute and Niji Farms.
Several areas of interests emerged as the officials were impressed with the IITA Youth Agripreneur model and the value chain approach of the Institute which encompasses crop improvement in terms of productivity, and food safety especially the aflasafe technology.
“We are interested in all that we have seen here especially the youth program and use of aflasafe technology to control aflatoxin in maize and groundnuts,” Dr Ulimwengu said.
At ILRI, the team met Dr Okike Iheanacho who explained the work of his organization with particular emphasis on the use of cassava peels for feeds for livestock.
“Our goal is to convert what could be environmental menace to a valuable commodity for animals. This will save food for human consumption and reduce competition between livestock and human beings,” he explained.
Dr Masankisa described the visit to Niji Farms in Ilero as an eye opener and a demonstration of a can-do spirit in Africans.
Niji Farms sits on more than a thous and and two hundred hectares and there are plans for further expansion. The farm is integrated, comprising cassava, maize, poultry and goats. The farm processes cassava into High Quality Cassava Flour, fufu, yam flour and gari, which comm ands high dem and from the United Kingdom.
For more information:
Godwin Atser, Communication and Knowledge Exchange Expert g.atser@cgiar.org
About IITA www.iita.org
IITA is one of the world’s leading research partners in finding solutions for hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. Its award-winning research-for-development (R4D) approach addresses the development needs of tropical countries. IITA works with partners to enhance crop quality and productivity, reduce producer and consumer risks, and generate wealth from agriculture. IITA is a non-profit organization founded in 1967 in Nigeria and governed by a Board of Trustees. IITA works on the following crops: cowpea, soybean, banana/plantain, yam, cassava, and maize. It is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.
Contributed by
Related news