Kinshasa, December 17th, 2025 (CPA).- The agro-ecological project carried out in Equateur, in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has led to the creation of a community seed bank. This initiative aimed to guarantee the availability, diversity and sustainability of local seeds within the communities of Bolomba,’ said engineer Samuel Abanda, CFLEDD consultant for the facilitation of the agro ecology project. « During the implementation of the project, several challenges were identified, particularly in the Bolomba area. We observed irregular and insufficient rainfall over periods ranging from three to six months. In the absence of rain, it became difficult to carry out certain agricultural activities, particularly those requiring regular visual monitoring of crops. This situation caused many difficulties, » he said.
One project led to the creation of a community seed bank, according to the project results presented on Wednesday in Kinshasa (the country’s capital) during a workshop organized by the Coalition of Women Leaders for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CFLEDD). As part of this project, entitled ‘Dall•EA Natural,’ an agro-ecological approach was adopted that made it possible to anticipate certain constraints before the sowing period, according to the CFLEDD consultant facilitating the Agro-ecology project. Certain forest areas, he said, still had the characteristics of primary forest.
Under these conditions, land clearing operations had to be carried out with great caution in order to strictly comply with ecological standards. For Ir Abanda, this requirement was not always compatible with the communities’ usual practices, but adaptation solutions were gradually found. ‘Initial resistance to changing agricultural practices was observed. Communities, accustomed to relying on traditional rainfall cycles and conventional farming methods, were reluctant to adopt new approaches. This situation was a major obstacle to the start of the project,’ he said. According to him, limitations related to financial resources and low community contribution also posed a major challenge.
‘The expected contributions from communities in terms of materials, labor or other local contributions fell short of initial forecasts, which affected the implementation of certain activities,’ he added. This project aimed, in particular, to restore the livelihoods of local populations through the establishment of production centers and the redevelopment of highly precarious areas, as well as the adoption of agro-ecological techniques integrating traditional knowledge in order to preserve biodiversity and ensure the resilience of production systems. ACP/