The African Agricultural Leadership Institute (AALI) participated in the first edition of the DRC AGRIBUSINESS FORUM, which was held in Kinshasa from October 4 to 5, 2023, and was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.
The Congolese government is taking up the challenge of transforming the country’s agropastoral sector and turning H.E. Félix Antoine TSHISEKEDI’s vision of “the revenge of the soil on the subsoil” into reality. This new initiative, a platform for exchange, consists of putting the cards on the table and raising questions to redefine the country’s agricultural policies in order to unblock and diversify the country’s economy and make the most of its immense arable land. This first edition brought together over two hundred state and private international organizations and governments from around the world, as well as several of the country’s authorities, including the Prime Minister, the Presidents of the Senate and the National Assembly, the Minister of Agriculture, and many others.
The African Agricultural Leadership Institute (AALI), as a technical support partner of the DRC’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA RDC), also took part. “This forum represents a great opportunity, an ideal space not only to present the particularity of AALI and its mission to promote leadership in African agricultural transformation, but also to learn and benefit from the experiences of other organizations both nationally and internationally on their agri-business oriented activities in the agropastoral sector”, said Dr David BUGEME, AALI’s Director for Country Advisory Services. Beyond the presentation of AALI’s niche, the palpable aspects of its contribution to agricultural transformation in the DRC were highlighted through the various products developed and technologies promoted by its Youth Brigade. Top of the list of technologies presented was small-scale agricultural mechanization, a suitable technology for small-scale producers. In addition to fish feed, the Youth Brigade, with the help of Professor Bintu Ndusha and Dr Paul Woomer, has developed a local soybean inoculant called “Yetuumax”, a technology imported to the DRC. Participants at the forum could not contain their amazement at this success story. “As part of the launch of the A season agricultural campaign, I will personally be in South Kivu next week to try out this new technological innovation on the Ruzizi plain”, said H.E. José MPANDA, Minister of Agriculture in the DRC, as he visited the AALI stand.