Farmers’ Dialogue in DR Congo 2014
By Alphonse BISUSA, FD-DRC chairman
The team of Farmers’ Dialogue in DR Congo has been active in 2014. It organized and participated in various functions both locally and beyond. The chairman attended an innovation fair at which he presented the fruits of FD work on food production. Earlier on Claude Bourdin of FDI visited the laboratory of CRSN during one of his visits.
In September 2014 he was invited to Uganda to share his experience of fighting BXW (banana xanthomonas wilt). While in Uganda he met Mr Jamil Ssebalu, chairman of FD Africa and vice-president of FDI whom they partnered with to produce this leaflet.
In October the team and the community celebrated two important events as follows;
Rural women international day - 15 October, 2014
The team spent this day with mothers and fathers from 57 villages, talking about the challenges put to them by the Congolese and the international team of 'Farmers’ Dialogue:
- To support the work of women on farms
- To involve men alongside women in the fieldwork
- To mobilise and involve youths in farming activities
- To produce enough food for the family’s needs
- To increase their incomeby selling their surplus
- To play their part in making sure the world is adequately fed
- To conserve environment
International food day - 16 October, 2014
This day was spent in the fields with the theme:
‘To eat better today in order to work better to-morrow’ –‘We sow today what we shall harvest to-morrow’.
The following areas were highlighted;
- To fight against malnutrition and hunger
- To fight against diseases and health deficiencies
- To improve the quality of cooking
The emphasis was put on goat milk production and the way to prevent brucellosis, as farmers want to develop the goat-cheese production. Blood tests were done on cattle to inform cattle breeders of the effects of ticks on the cow’s life. Exhibitions on cooking and tasting to improve food quality were conducted.
The provincial Minister for Agriculture and other agricultural authorities took part in the closing of the training session.