Implemented two years ago, the Commercial Agriculture Development Support Project (Pdac) has so far shown acceptable results. The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Henri Djombo, announced it during a conference he hosted on October 23 in Brazzaville.
Halfway through its execution, the PDAC carried out two fundraising campaigns, one in 2018 and the other in 2019. This made it possible to set up 1,500 business plans, of which 782 were selected and accepted by the national commission. of confirmation.
The first campaign enabled the selection of 111 business plans, including 102 for producer groups, 5 for the indigenous population and 9 for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The second outreach, meanwhile, selected 782 business plans
To date, 777 business plans have been signed, committing the State for nearly 12 billion FCFA. The first installments were almost completely paid, with the exception of a few areas, due to the delays in processing financial transactions observed by banks and microfinances.
More than six billion were thus paid between June and October of the current year by the Project, for the benefit of the beneficiaries. There remain five beneficiaries of business plans who have not yet signed their financing agreements with Pdac, among whom, three micro-enterprises and a group of producers.
It should be noted that the financing of business plans has made it possible to reach nearly 11,000 producers, including nearly 6,000 women and 706 indigenous people.
“The needs are so huge that there are already exhausted sections. This is, for example, cost-shared financing, which has enabled several farmers to revive, “said the Minister of Agriculture before noting:” We will have to negotiate additions that will allow us to continue the incentives for rural operators. A single project cannot satisfy them. We will fight to get other projects started. “
New agricultural villages of Imvouba and Nkouo will be revived
The government is counting on the Kuwaiti fund to rehabilitate the new farming villages of Nkouo and Imvouba, which have been abandoned for several years.
“The first experiment failed. We will go back there to rectify and ensure that these villages will fulfill the missions that were initially entrusted to them, those of producing broilers and table eggs intended to flood the local market, “said Minister Henri Djombo.
“We are going to relaunch them with external funds. It is illusory to wait for internal funds given the difficulties the state is experiencing in financing government action. We will fight for the support of others to develop our agriculture. What we are aiming for is to ensure food security by all means, ”he continued.
The sea fishing fleet will be reduced
By administrative measures, the government decided to reduce the Pointe-Noire marine fishing fleet. Currently, at 78 armaments, the number of boats will be reduced to 50 very soon.
“To ensure better management of this sector, the law is on the government’s table,” said Henri Djombo who, at the same time, objected to the fake-news disclosed by certain international NGOs, reporting the disappearance, over time, of the fish, due to overfishing by many Chinese boats in the sea from the coastal city.
“There are international reports that indicate dwindling fish stocks due to climate change and marine pollution. This does not only concern the Congo, it is a global trend, ”he stressed.
Recall that the 2018-2022 National Development Plan (PND) retained agriculture, in the broad sense, as one of the key sectors for the development and economic diversification of the Congo. The PND budgetary framework has provided for nearly 1340 billion FCFA to finance agropastoral and fisheries programs.
