IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

05/03/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/03/2024 08:56

IITA and partners to hold Agroecology Day in DR Congo

3 May 2024

In recent years, agroecological concepts and principles have gained importance in scientific, agricultural, and policy fields.

In the South Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some research institutions, academia, NGOs, and farmers' organizations are currently carrying out various agroecology activities and programs. Some of these activities are carried out in partnership, while others are implemented in a stand-alone manner.

With the DELIBERATE project, for instance, IITA and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) jointly conducted research in agroecology in the South-Kivu province.

This also applies to the CANALLS Project, in which several national and international partners are engaged in the joint search for solution approaches towards an agroecological transition. Some local universities, including the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), the Université officielle de Bukavu (UOB), and the Université évangélique en Afrique (UEA), also administer diploma (Degree) curricula in agroecology.

Hence, in a bid to share the results of the research carried out, IITA and ETH Zurich, in collaboration with the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB), are organizing an Agroecology Day under the DELIBERATE project which sets a nexus between quality deliberative discussion regarding soybean and coffee value chains, and the ecological "food footprints" in South-Kivu and Kasaï provinces.

In that light, a conference is planned to share experiences and knowledge on agroecology and give a wholesome picture of activities relating to this area in South Kivu.

The Conference will hold on 7 May 2024 at the Olusegun Obasanjo Research Campus (IITA Station) in Kalambo, South Kivu, and is expected to attract about 120 attendees.

It is worth noting that, as side events of the Conference proceedings, two workshops are planned in collaboration with soy and coffee producer organizations to strengthen the cooperatives' potential and discuss the roles and ways of improving the peasant organizations' functioning for sustainability.