Official launch of the UN Rome-Based Agencies joint-project's activities in DRC
Kinshasa, 17 March 2015. About 40 participants, including experts in post-harvest management, representatives of relevant public and private sector actors, national and international institutions and organizations, decision makers were informed about the project “Mainstreaming food loss reduction initiatives for smallholders in food deficit areas”, its objectives, areas of intervention and expected results. This global project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) started in June 2014, includes activities at country level in three African countries Burkina Faso, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo, where its launching workshop was held at the Hotel Sultani in Kinshasa, DRC last week.
For the UN Rome-Based Agencies (RBA), Mr Marcel Ndoro speaking on behalf of the FAO Representative indicated that for smallholders a lot of losses occur along the supply chains from harvest through storage, processing, transportation, collection and distribution of agricultural products. For this reason, food loss reduction can play a significant role in improving food security and income generation. According to Mr Marcel Kapambawe, Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Agriculture, Fishery and Livestock (MoAFL), the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is engaged through the National Agricultural Investment Plan (NAIP) towards an emerging economy. This is why it expects to reinforce smallholders’ trust and to increase their income through this project. Through this project also, the Government expects to implement the roadmap of the Malabo Declaration by the African Union aimed at reducing by 50% the current levels of food losses by 2025.
To better inform stakeholders and beneficiaries about the project and ensure their ownership the National Focal Point, Mr Désiré Yalulu presented the project and its planned activities, and additional presentations were given to their attention followed by questions, discussions, suggestions and recommendations from the participants. The Project Manager Ms Mireille Totobesola-Barbier presented the online Community of Practice on food loss reduction and the mechanisms of mini-grants to pilot, test, and disseminate appropriate solutions for the target sites and beneficiaries in DRC. Professor Eric Sumbu and Robert Ngonde, Director of the Agricultural Statistics presented on selected crops (maize and rice), loss assessments objectives and expected results, geographic areas of the study, timeframe and an overview of the methodology applied. Participants also had the chance to reflect, discuss in groups, share relevant information and recommendations during a plenary session on the main topics: the issues on losses along the maize and rice supply chains and the mini-grant mechanism; and the identification of and support to national policies and strategies for the reduction of food losses in DRC and the implementation process of the African Union Malabo Declaration roadmap.
In DRC, the project is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Livestock (MoAFL), particularly with the Department of plant production and protection. The targeted value chains are maize and rice in Kinshasa, Bas-Congo and Bandundu. The results of this project will be used to formulate recommendations on feasible and appropriate solutions aimed at defining following projects and programmes, encouraging relevant investments by the private and public sectors, and supporting the formulation and the implementation of relevant policy and regulatory framework. Joining the workshop in the afternoon, the FAO Representative requested to pay a special attention to gender issues when implementing the project activities.
In addition to participants from the RBA in DRC and Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Livestock (MoAFL) about 30 participants from different organizations participated, including: the Association des agriculteurs /pèche et élevage de SEKE BANZA, the Confédération Nationale des Producteurs Agricole du Congo (CONAPAC), the Confédération Paysanne du Congo (COPACO), l’Institut National des Recherches Agronomiques (INERA), le Service National de Vulgarisation (SNV), the Bureau de liaison Kinshasa of the PAPAKIN programme (Programme D'appui aux pôles d'approvisionnement de la Ville de Kinshasa en produits vivriers et maraichers), the Fédération des Entreprise du Congo (FEC), the Confédération des Petites et Moyennes entreprises du Congo (COPEMECO), the NGOs Congo Sifa (Logistique alimentaire), Food for Congo, Action Jeunesse pour l'Environnement et Développement (AJED), Agir Alternatif ; Université Pédagogique Nationale (UPN), Université de Kinshasa (UNIKIN), Université Protestante du Congo (UPC), and the Institut Supérieur Agrovétérinaire (ISAV).
Other info and photos about the workshop are available at the following links: FAO-DRC press release (in French); IFAD press release (French); Magazine des Nations Unies (MAG UN) MONUSCO-Public Information Division-Radio Okapi (French, from 4’16’’); dedicated FAO of the UN Flickr album
Workshop group photo © FAO-DRC/Teddy Maingolo Bolio