Caritas Congo Reaches Out to Hundreds of Farmers with “techniques to increase yields”

Kivu, 30 January, 2022 / 7:00 PM

The Church leadership in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has, through its development and humanitarian arm, Caritas Congo ASBL, reached out to hundreds of farmers in South Kivu with farming techniques aimed at improving yields.

In a Thursday, January 27 report, officials of Caritas Congo say the initiative falls within the framework of the Support to Forest Dependent Communities in DRC/PACDF project.

The project seeks to improve the forest ecosystem through the planting of trees, food crops and the production and marketing of honey in seventeen villages in the Kalonge Group, Kalehe Territory in South Kivu.

“The objective of this initiative is to strengthen the capacities of 260 farming households of IPs (Indigenous People) and COLOs (Local Communities) on good farming techniques to increase the agricultural production of potatoes, beans, groundnuts and onions in the territory of Kalehe,” Caritas Congo officials say in the report.

In the first phase of this project, Caritas Congo leadership says, “Several results were achieved, including the planting of trees, the production and cultivation of peanuts, potatoes, beans and onions, and the production of honey.” 

They note that “farming tools and seeds for food and vegetable crops have been distributed to the beneficiaries. Beehives were distributed and installed for the production and marketing of honey.”

“Households have been sensitized on the project approach and identification of beneficiaries and have been strengthened in good farming methods and techniques,” the Caritas Congo officials add.

In addition, they say, “an area of 4 hectares (ha) with 4 varieties of trees associated with food crops was developed for crop production.”

“The distribution was as follows: 1 ha for the cultivation of peanuts, 1 ha for beans, 1 ha for onions, and 1 ha for potatoes,” Caritas Congo ASBL officials explain.

They further say that the field for “peanut cultivation was considered as a school field for the farmers in order to learn the cultivation methods and techniques for transfer to the individual fields of the project beneficiary households.”

Caritas Congo ASBL officials add, “260kg of beans was distributed to 260 beneficiaries to improve their production.”