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The participants of the two day evaluation workshop in South Kivu.

The IITA led Great Lakes Accelerated Innovation Delivery Initiative Rapid Delivery Hub (AID-I GLR) project for the dissemination of agricultural innovations in the Great Lakes region, organized a workshop with the project’s various implementing partners between 4 and 5 December 2024. The workshop held in the New Riviera Hotel in Bukavu evaluated the project’s second year of implementation, drawing lessons from activities, while learning how to improve interventions and plan activities for the first quarter of 2025.

Each partner – RIKOLTO, VSF, Support and capacity-building services for women’s self-promotion (SARCAF), SAWBO, ILRI, IRRI, and CIP – presented the various achievements accomplished during year 2024, while drawing up their work plans for the next agricultural season.

Breakout session on intersection work during the workshop.

Several technologies have been disseminated in the various villages spread over six territories in the province of South Kivu, with the aim of improving yields of food crops (cassava, banana, rice, maize, beans) and market garden crops. These technologies also promote practices such as artificial insemination, the manufacture of lick blocks, and the establishment of high-nutrition forage crops for livestock farmers.

Since inception, the USAID-funded AID-I GLR project has supported seed companies in ensuring the sufficient availability of quality seeds to farming households in South Kivu province while promoting good agronomic practices. Using the village-based agricultural advisor (VBA) approach, the advisors act as intermediaries between seed companies and farming households while passing on to farmers the innovations learned from implementing partners to reinforce this process.

Participants discussing strategic plans for 2025 during the evaluation workshop in South Kivu.

During the workshop, Project Coordinator Dr Jacob Mignouna urged all partners present to redouble their efforts to achieve the objectives set by the project, placing particular emphasis on the quality of data submitted to the project system. Also, IITA Delivery Specialist Dr Léon Nabahungu, suggested that the implementing partners write about their success story at the end of the project.

This initiative will highlight the level of satisfaction of the beneficiaries and demonstrate the impact of the interventions on increasing the agricultural incomes of households in the Zone concerned.

Contributed by Isabelle Buhoro

Certified participants after the catfish training at the IITA Kalambo office.

To enhance fish production and processing in the province of South Kivu, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has partnered with WorldFish to provide fish farmers and the national aquaculture service with comprehensive training in aquaculture technologies and practices in the DRC as part of the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) aquaculture program. This was achieved through a series of training courses held from 4 to 17 September in the province of South Kivu.

The TAAT program, with its ambitious goals, aims to double the productivity of crops, livestock, and fish by 2025 by expanding access to productivity-enhancing technologies to more than 40 million smallholder farmers across Africa. It also seeks to generate an additional 120 million metric tons (T) of food while lifting 130 million people out of poverty.

Participants in processing and value-addition training.

The TAAT program was prioritized around priority crop, livestock, and aquaculture value chains. It rolled out a “twin approach,” which involves facilitating the delivery of productivity-enhancing technologies to farmers at scale while also seeking to create an enabling environment of policies and regulations for technology adoption and functioning of input and output markets. This approach is significant as it not only provides farmers with the necessary tools but also ensures that they can effectively use these tools in a conducive environment.

TAAT’s partners and stakeholders, including the African Development Bank, WorldFish, and the national aquaculture service, work in close collaboration to ensure the accelerated dissemination of the right knowledge and technologies at an accelerated pace, demonstrating the strength of our collective efforts.

With this in mind, WorldFish and IITA organized four Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions on four topics: Catfish fingerlings production, feed fish production, post-harvest and processing, and tilapia fingerlings production.

Training on feed fish ongoing at Kashusha feed mill at Kabare territory.

The workshop’s main objectives were to assess the present status of catfish and tilapia fingerling production, including challenges and opportunities along the value chain. They also aimed to identify facilities, inputs, and capacity-building needs for hatchery management in the catfish and tilapia industry. They also extend to increasing aquaculture production and productivity by identifying and deploying quality tilapia and catfish seeds, producing low-cost fish feed, and adding value through outreach campaigns, extension, and market linkage campaigns in RMCs.

In 2018, AfDB launched TAAT as a major continent-wide initiative designed to increase agricultural productivity by rapidly delivering proven technologies to millions of farmers.

Contributed by Isabelle Buhoro

IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, Dr. Simeon Ehui with South Kivu Provincial Governor Jean-Jacques Mpurusi Sadiki.

During a brief stay in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which hosts IITA–CGIAR, Dr Simeon Ehui, Director General of IITA and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, met with Provincial Governor Jean-Jacques Mpurusi Sadiki on 9 September.

The agenda of the meeting revolved around sustaining and furthering collaboration between IITA and the provincial government in particular and with DR Congo’s government in general, as well as assessing the implications of IITA’s mission in strengthening food security in South Kivu.

(L-R) IITA-Kalambo Station Head Jan A. Helsen, IITA Director General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, Dr. Simeon Ehui, (m) South Kivu Provincial Governor Jean-Jacques Mpurusi Sadiki, IITA Country Representative for DRC Zoumana Bamba, and Provincial Minister of Agriculture, His Excellency Didier Kabi.

The Provincial Minister of Agriculture, His Excellency Didier Kabi, IITA Central Africa Hub Director and Country Representative for DRC Zoumana Bamba, IITA-Kalambo Station Head Jan A. Helsen, and several executives from both IITA and the provincial government attended the meeting.

Governor Sadiki and DG Ehui reviewed the impact of previous projects and the inputs made by various technical partners as part of endeavors meant to reduce imports of basic commodities. These reviews were important because the said projects are designed and implemented to develop and revamp the agricultural sector in the country and, subsequently, improve the socio-economic conditions of the country’s inhabitants.

The provincial authority took the opportunity to hail IITA’s inputs in the region, urging the institute to engage further in implementing its mission, which includes providing technical support for agricultural research.

South Kivu Provincial Governor Jean-Jacques Mpurusi Sadiki during discussions with Dr. Simeon Ehui.

Dr Ehui noted that the support from IITA, coupled with contributions from various partners working in the sector, will help provide appropriate and lasting solutions to problems such as food insecurity and reverse the trend in food imports, bearing in mind that the South Kivu province is an agricultural area, among other potentials. “Most importantly, it goes beyond investing further in research and rural development infrastructures but is also about advocating for and initiating desirable agricultural policy reforms to boost food security,” he added.

DG Ehui earlier met with the provincial Minister of Agriculture to discuss various technical issues on the implementation of the “Agenda for the Transformation of Agriculture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (ATA-DRC)” program in the Ruzizi plain, as this area makes up the intervention scope in the space under the Minister’s wardship, in the frame of the ATA-DRC Program.

Contributed by Isabelle Buhoro

As part of the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) for Bio-Circular Economy and Environmental Sustainability (BBEST) project activities, led by IITA and funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), one of the project’s partners in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Institut National pour l’Etude et la Recherche Agronomiques (INERA), held a two-day technical workshop in Kinshasa on 19-20 July. The workshop proposed an inter-ministerial decree and aimed to define the standards for using black soldier fly larvae in animal feed production.

IITA BBEST Project Coordinator and INERA Authorities at the workshop.

The event brought together various technical experts, representatives of the relevant ministries, researchers, members of environmental civil society, and actors in organic waste recycling. The workshop’s highlight was a review of standards for using black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) and their by-products in animal feed and vegetable production.

The discussions highlighted the critical importance of these standards in ensuring food safety and promoting environmental sustainability. Participants explored how these standards can provide safe and healthy food by reducing pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella in animal feed.

From an environmental perspective, using black soldier fly larvae offers an innovative solution for recycling organic waste, thereby reducing waste volumes and the cost of agricultural products. This practice significantly contributes to sustainability by transforming food residue into valuable resources, promoting more environmentally friendly agriculture.

Participants at the standard validation workshop.

In addition, the proposed standards structure a market for these products, increasing the competitiveness of local products and offering small producers viable alternatives to economic and climatic challenges.

In terms of regulatory compliance, these standards ensure that production practices comply with European regulations, making it easier to place products on international markets. They cover organically produced feed production, preparation, import, processing, and marketing. By ensuring a sustainable and secure value chain, these standards are essential for developing organic farming in DRC, opening up new opportunities for local producers.

Contributed by Faustin Lokinda and Francisca Ocloo

In their stride to promote sustainable agriculture practices among farmers, the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), a partner of the BSF for Bio Circular Economy and Environmental Sustainability (BBEST) led by IITA, organized a workshop on rearing black soldier fly (BSF) in Kinshasa in DRC. The three-day training from 29 to 31 July aimed to equip agripreneurs to produce BSF and its larvae and incorporate it into quail, chicken, fish, and pig feed.

Practical workshop session demonstrating how to establish the adult fly cages.

In his welcome address, Prof. Patrick Mafwila gave an overview of the chicken, fish, and pig feed and organic fertilizer value chain development using BSF-based urban biowaste processing in Ghana, Mali, Niger, and DRC, funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), highlighting the various experiments carried out on animals including quails, chickens, fish, and pigs.

Joel Mangana highlighted the overall and specific objectives of the BBEST project. His presentation focused on BSF production, explaining to the participants the need for using organic waste in the fly’s diet. He also specified the need to allocate space for the rearing, with all the possible equipment, including the black cages, the nesting boxes, mosquito nets, and shelves. He elaborated on the elements conducive to successful breeding, such as temperature, light, and the quality of the organic waste. He emphasized the fly’s life cycle and the importance of rearing it.

The theoretical training was followed by a series of questions from the participants who visited the black soldier fly-rearing unit at UNIKIN.

Participants learning to incorporate the black soldier fly in animal feed.

On the second day of the training, three groups were formed around the three training modules. Toussaint Mabiala taught the first module on incorporating larvae meal in poultry feed, Pierrette Nzaba taught the module on using larvae meal in pig feed, and Pascal Kokota taught the module on the incorporation of larvae meal in fish feed. After the three theory modules, the beneficiaries practiced mixing larvae meal with pig, fish, and poultry feed.

Following the two days of theoretical sessions, each group discussed incorporating the larvae meal into pig, poultry, and fish feed.

Through the training, Antoine Roger Kadima Tshiyombo, an agripreneur, attested to the challenges of the high cost of animal feed. With the training provided by UNIKIN and the BBEST project, he could produce animal feed locally and reduce production costs.

According to Jaccard Ngania, “The training provided the needed answers to all the questions he had before attending the training and recommended to the organizers to provide such training throughout the country.”

Workshop attendees at the BSF training at UNIKIN.

The five beneficiaries supported in various ways by the IITA BBEST project, namely, Aron Lukanu of the Coopérative Agricole de Centre de Kimbanseke (COOPACEK), Mpova Ewing of the Coopérative Agricole de Centre Maraicher de N’djili, (COOPACEN), Jean Rene Mangiba of the Association des Pisciculteurs pour le Développement au Congo, (APIDEC), Lipasa Ngandu of the Judith farm, and Stanis Kambula of the Kabala Kamesa Kalundi (KAMKA) farm shared their experiences on rearing black soldier fly and encouraged participants to adopt the rearing and mass production of the BSF.

The participants thanked the IITA BBEST project, UNIKIN, and NORAD. They asked for support from the IITA BBEST project to enable them to carry out their activities, as they understood the importance of black soldier fly rearing as a solution to the problem of the high cost of protein meals in the formulation of animal feed and organic fertilizer.

Contributed by Claude Bahati and Francisca Ocloo

Delivery of legal documents from the youth agribusiness owners.

Engaging youths in agricultural entrepreneurship is crucial in alleviating the increasingly growing youth unemployment and boosting rural transformation. This is prompting most countries and national and international development partners to prioritize agricultural entrepreneurship as a means of economic growth.

With this in mind, IITA has initiated a program targeting young agripreneurs in a bid to develop entrepreneurship in agri-business through imparting skills and to create a conducive environment allowing for youths (both girls and boys) to own profitable agri-businesses, using an ad hoc incubation model. The program aims to create—along with priority agricultural value chains—business opportunities and decent employment for young girls and boys.

Beneficiaries of the entrepreneurship program.

Through this initiative, IITA is involved in various projects to promote youth entrepreneurship, such as the “Projet d’entreprenariat des jeunes en agriculture et agro-business” [Project for Youths’ Entrepreneurship in Agriculture and Agri-business] (PEJAB project), which aims to promote the entrepreneurship development among young men and women in agricultural and agri-food value chains, by way of strengthening youths’ skills and supporting the said youths in setting up and managing viable businesses, and making it easier for them to access finance.

In the framework of this DR Congo government-led project, IITA supported over 60 youths over three months through training in cross-cutting modules, mentoring and coaching, experience-sharing and learning visits, and market access facilitation.

Representative of the Minister for Agriculture delivering opening remarks.

Such action is driven by IITA’s mission, which partly involves engaging youths in agribusiness through its youth entrepreneurship development program, which includes technical and managerial training in entrepreneurship.

After incubation, IITA, in collaboration with PEJAB, held a workshop to present and finalize the business plans of young entrepreneurs in the presence of stakeholders involved in promoting youth, bankers, and members of the provincial government.

During the workshop, over 20 youths presented their respective bankable business plans to the attending officials, thereby applying for financial support.

Contributed by Isabelle Buhoro

Following the activity of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda program in the Democratic Republic of Congo (ATA-DRC) to transform the agricultural sector, DRC Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka, accompanied by South Kivu Provincial Governor Jean Jacques Purusi, recently paid a courtesy visit to the IITA Olusegun Obasanjo research campus in South Kivu Province.

Tuluka’s visit was driven by a clear objective: to gain an in-depth understanding of research for development and partnership for delivery activities conducted by IITA in South Kivu. It also gave her insights into the significance and benefits of the ATA-DRC program.

ATA-DRC is a program initiated by the Congolese government with the endorsement of DRC’s President, His Excellency Felix Antoine Tshisekedi, to improve the agricultural sector of DRC, foster sustainable development and economic growth, and improve the population’s livelihoods. The DRC Ministry of Agriculture implements the program and receives technical support from IITA and the African Institute for Agricultural Leadership (AALI).

Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluk visiting a youth agripreneur display stand during a mini exhibition.

The meeting outlined a comprehensive framework for learning and strengthening the collaborative efforts crucial for the success of the ATA-DRC program in its various niches, laying the groundwork for its ongoing implementation.

During the visit, the team explored the research facilities—Tissue Culture, Aflasafe, Semi-Autotrophics Hydroponics (SAH) laboratories, hatchery, and AALI. Tuluka expressed her excitement, stating that the meeting provided an invaluable opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the significance and advantages of the project with IITA.

“I am committed to continuing this partnership and advancing effectively towards achieving tangible results to ensure food security in DRC. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the entire team, particularly the agripreneurs and the courageous young people,” she said, expressing her support.

To wrap up the meeting, the team agreed to invite AALI President Nteranya Sanginga to harmonize the form and content of the ATA-DRC program to ensure its coherence and effectiveness and develop strategies for scaling up the program in other provinces of DRC. Therefore, “this collaborative effort would optimize the program’s impact across the country, fostering agricultural development and economic growth,” Tuluka said.

Contributed by Isabelle Buhoro

On 7 May, IITA Kalambo hosted a scientific conference to celebrate the Day of Agroecology 2024. Representatives from research institutions, educational institutions, and national and international NGOs attended the conference under the IITA and ETH Zurich DELIBERATE Project.

This Day of Agroecology aligned with the project’s activities for exchanging knowledge and research results with the scientific community, farmers, and players in the coffee and soybean agri-food value chains in DR Congo. The conference provided a platform for participating organizations to present their agroecology-related activities and programs, including the consortium of South Kivu universities: Université Catholique de Bukavu (UCB), Université Officiel de Bukavu (UOB), Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA), and Université Catholique du Graben (UCG).

Million Belay of the civil society organization Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) spoke about the research and his institute’s practical experiences in agroecology and food sovereignty in Africa. Participants actively contributed to the conference’s objective of promoting exchanges on agroecology research as a science, practice, and social movement. Furthermore, the conference aided in disseminating case results to relevant regional players and strengthened collaborations between various institutions. The conference was attended by 125 people, including students, teachers, researchers, and NGO staff.

The DELIBERATE Project, powered by IITA, ETH Zurich, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, links the deliberative quality of soy and coffee value chains to ecological and social “foodprints” in South Kivu and Kasai-Lomami, DR Congo.

The conference participants thanked the project’s financiers, IITA and UCB, for facilitating the program. The organizers appreciated all the attendees for making the day memorable.

Contributed by Johanna Jacobi

As an implementing partner in the provinces of Sud-Kivu and Tanganyika in eastern DRC, IITA–CGIAR has just unveiled the results achieved by the cassava and regional integration components of the Projet Intégré de Croissance Agricole dans le grand-lacs (PICAGL).

Participants after the PICAGL symposium in DRC.

The symposium was held over two days in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, from 27 to 28 May. During the symposium, IITA reviewed the major achievements of this project, which has provided improved varieties of cassava and rice in the two provinces concerned.

According to IITA Deputy Director General, Research for Development (DDG-R4D), Bernard Vanlauwe, in addition to the improved seeds introduced by PICAGL, the project’s two components have also enabled the rehabilitation and equipping of laboratories at CRSN Lwiro and INERA Mulungu in Kabare territory, and the construction and equipping of the aflatoxin analysis laboratory.

Thanks to PICAGL, Tanganyika now has outlets selling high-quality cassava flour (planifiable flours), making manufacturing cassava-based products such as Chikwange, bread, and cookies easier. The results show that the project has exceeded the planned target of 14 tonnes per hectare to over 20 tonnes per hectare for cassava yields in the field. Similarly, the household project has reached over 44,000 in Tanganyika out of a planned 52,000.

Regarding regional integration, the project’s achievements include scholarship holders who have obtained their Masters’ degrees and the introduction of fortified organic maize seeds.

Added to this are agroforestry and reforestation activities, including training for producers and the various players in the value chain.

The project’s results include several studies, such as the food quality project, which has established a major innovation in South Kivu: an Aflasafe plant producing 5 tons per day. The plant helps to ensure healthy and toxin-free food.

Poster presentation during the PICAGL symposium.

The results presented over the two days revealed the significant progress made, notwithstanding some difficulties encountered during the implementation of the project’s activities.

In his presentation, the head of the PICAGL project at IITA, Leon Nabahungu, praised the Institute’s contribution to the success of this Congolese government project to improve agricultural production. He estimated that PICAGL’s cassava and regional integration components were more than 90% successful.

Nabahungu asserted, “For regional integration, the work was much more related to doing research that can help the rice, milk, and agroforestry value chains. So, we worked with government departments like INERA and SENASEM to research and find solutions. There was also the question of training INERA staff because we know that it’s the institution that will ensure the sustainability of this project, and to be a researcher, you have to study and have either a master’s degree or a doctorate.”

He explained further, “For cassava, the target was over 80,000 households (60% in South Kivu and 40% in Kalemie). We have invited our partners to show the results we have achieved and to discuss the lessons learned during the project’s implementation and sustainability. The success rate is 95%.”

He added, “In South Kivu and Tanganyika, we had a target of over 80,000 households, but we reached 20 million, and we think we have done a bit more. The donor is there and can easily see what has been planned and what has been done. In South Kivu, 64,000 households have benefited directly from our seeds and agricultural technologies for manioc.”

The provincial coordinator of PICAGL in Tanganyika participated in this feedback symposium and praised the results. For Jean Paul Batibuha, the lessons and results will enable the central and provincial governments and development stakeholders to successfully implement future development projects in the two provinces (South Kivu and Tanganyika).

He reminded participants to capitalize on the results presented and perpetuate PICAGL’s achievements.

Contributed by Isabelle Buhoro

countries: Congo

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