North Kivu: PASA makes progress, according to supervision mission

Goma, August 7^th, 2021 (CPA). – The members of the joint supervision mission bringing together the delegates of the Ministry of Agriculture and those of the International Fund for the Development of Agriculture (IFAD), indicated, at At the end of a day of restitution of the observations collected during 7 (seven) days in Goma, that the implementation of the Support Project for the Agricultural Sector in North Kivu (PASA-NK), recorded progress. From Masisi territory to Beni, via Nyiragongo, Rutshuru and Lubero, the supervision mission extended to implementing partners really realized the progress, in addition to the relevant recommendations made for the benefit of producers. Responding to a question at the end of the feedback session, Mr. Valentine Achancho, IFAD Country Director in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), said he was encouraged by the improvements recorded compared to the year’s mission. 2020. “Compared to the previous mission, especially in terms of financial management, the Project has made significant progress, in particular by defining the procedures for granting and managing funds to beneficiary farmers’ organizations which are key partners in the implementation. implementation of the project, ”he said. The mixed delegation nevertheless recognized the existence of thorny problems to be resolved, notably the access of producers to land which is linked to the high rental price of a hectare; The planning of the project at the level of the farmers’ organizations as well as the non-involvement of the producer in the search for solutions to problems such as the use of pesticides, are among others the challenges facing the conduct of PASA / NK. Previously, Mr. Sébastien Mupenda, advisor to the Minister of Agriculture who led the government part, assured all stakeholders of the materialization of all relevant recommendations of the project, the execution of which reflects the vision of the President of the Republic, Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, namely improving the well-being of the Congolese people. The interim coordinator of the Project in North Kivu, Daniel Bunambo, for his part welcomed the passage of this mission, especially since, he added, from now on the construction component of road infrastructure and storage will be activated. Among the remaining challenges in the execution of PASA-NK we note the capacity of the teams to be able to quickly carry out the activities in all pragmatism, and also the capacity to integrate in an exclusive way all the actors, in particular the Farmer organizations leading the lines as well as the major players in the project. As a reminder, PASA / NK is a project which aims to improve yields for the four sectors targeted, namely rice, potatoes, corn and coffee. ACP/