New project to strengthen and modernize DRC’s cassava sector

17 November 2023

Under the patronage of the Ministry of Agriculture, IITA–CGIAR launched the “Cassava Value Chain Development Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” in Kinshasa. The USAID-funded project is meant to strengthen and further structure the organization of the cassava sector in the DRC.

The cassava value chain in the DRC has not yet reached its full potential. However, the crop is important for ensuring food security because of its resilience to climate change, high temperatures, and impoverished soils.

To optimize cassava’s benefit, particularly its huge industrial potential, it is imperative to strengthen the capacities of involved stakeholders and organize the exploration of the value chain to create greater opportunities. This strategy aligns with the DRC Government’s vision to maximize the economic impact of agriculture.

This vision underpins the Agenda for the Transformation of Agriculture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (ATA-DRC), a program implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture with technical assistance from IITA and the African Agricultural Leadership Institute (AALI).

“Cassava is at the core of government efforts to boost the agro-industrial sector and broaden the economic base to achieve the government development objectives,” said José Mpanda Minister of Agriculture.

This project will improve the functioning of the cassava value chain through interventions at each segment level—basic products supply (such as seeds), root production techniques, value addition, processing, quality standards of the produce, market, and business environment.

The project will take an integrated approach to address poor cassava yields by combining best agricultural practices, such as improved high-yielding cassava varieties, fertilizers, and regular weeding.

Timely planting and harvesting, as well as mechanization and industrialization, will also be used to create wealth and generate employment at each value chain level. In addition to food, cassava is a very versatile crop, and its derivatives are used in different sectors, including confectionery, textiles, the pharmaceutical industry, and livestock.

In the past, USAID had partnered with IITA to control the spread of cassava pests and diseases such as cassava mealybug (CMB), cassava mosaic virus (CMV), cassava bacteriosis (CBB), and cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) in the DRC. In each situation, IITA, in collaboration with the National Institute for Agronomic Studies and Research (INERA), developed and identified varieties of cassava that were efficient and tolerant against each disease.

This new USAID-funded project will build on these successes and scale up related technologies.

USAID support will help bolster DRC cassava producers, processors, and input suppliers by strengthening their capacities and easing their access to resources and markets to allow for the growth of the cassava subsector. Similarly, the project will aim to reduce or eliminate bottlenecks hindering production, processing, and marketing, including manufacturing high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) and using it in the food industry, such as breadmaking. Substituting wheat flour with cassava breadmaking flour (at the rate of ten percent) will allow the DRC to reduce the cost of producing bread and create employment in the sector. This will also reduce DRC’s reliance on food imports and improve the country’s trade balance.

“As part of our continued support to improve the food security for the DRC population, this new project, along with other USAID-funded initiatives, will partner with Congolese farmers and agribusinesses to revamp economic growth, increase employment opportunities, and improve livelihoods,” noted Zoumana Bamba, IITA’s Regional Director for the Central Africa Hub and Country Representative for the DRC.

“The Congolese agricultural system must modernize to meet current agricultural, commercial, and economic challenges, and IITA commits to contributing to the development of the cassava value chain by leveraging the necessary agricultural technologies and innovations,” Bamba continued.

This US government initiative will be implemented closely with national research institutions, farmer organizations, and the private sector.

Contributed by Zoumana Bamba