Kinshasa, June 25th, 2021 (CPA).– The researcher of the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), Kasereka Kombi, indicated that industrial crops (coffee, cocoa, cinchona) are important for development and economic resilience, if they are cultivated in order to cope with shocks in times of economic and political crises.
Mr. Kasereka said Friday during a conference organized Friday for the attention of the Congolese Association for the Advancement of Science, Technology and Industry (ACASTI) in collaboration with the faculties of science and medicine from UNIKIN to the parish of Sacré-Cœur, located in the commune of Gombe.
In the Congolese context, he noted that despite the war situation in the northeastern part of the DRC (Butembo and Beni), these territorial entities have experienced a “prosperous” economy thanks to the dynamism of the majority of the population in the agricultural sector.
Mr. Kasereka suggested that the agricultural products of industrial exploitation were spared in this period, specifying that the protagonists, especially the rebels were engaged in looting of banks, the theft of livestock, food products and manufactured goods as well. as minerals.
The revival of the food industry from the exploitation of plant-based resources
In addition, the doctor in faculty of sciences of the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN), Mr. Vinhy Lusamba, indicated that the exploitation of resources of plant origin should occupy the first place in the DRC, by virtue of the wealth soil and subsoil for the revival of the food industry.
According to him, the food industry plays a key role in life expectancy, adding that many plants in the DRC are likely to produce seeds or fruits containing an appreciable proportion of lipids and other nutrients.
He said he had just completed a study on pumpkin seeds (citrallas lanatus) and essential oils which the species are found in most provinces of the DRC and in central Africa. These squash seeds are, according to him, fats that can be used in the manufacture of a variety of useful end products and a milk substitute as well as in the manufacture of meat-like products.
This conference benefited from the collaboration of the faculties of science and medicine of UNIKIN as well as the Commercial Bank of Congo (BCDC), it is reported. ACP/