About fifty cassava producer groups in the Bouenza department are benefiting from the Promanioc project, financed to the tune of 1.5 million euros (nearly one billion CFA francs) by the European Union (EU) and executed by the World Food Program (WFP).
This program, which has just started, aims to strengthen the artisanal cassava value chain in Congo. It was initiated following an observation made by the representative of WFP in Congo, Jean-Martin Bauer. “Each year, the Congo imports more than 600 billion CFA francs worth of food from abroad, despite the fact that it is a country that has land and a climate favorable to agriculture. What we want to do with the Promanioc project is to strengthen the value chain of cassava and related products, especially gari and attiéké, ”explained the WFP representative.
The program will call on a South-South partnership already in place with West African countries (Benin, Ivory Coast), major producers and consumers of cassava products. Established for two years, this program aims in the long term to diversify sources of income in rural areas and to bring new local cassava-based products to the market.
These new foods will also be promoted and incorporated into meals in WFP school canteens (5,000 students in Bouenza), as well as in the food assistance basket for vulnerable households in urban areas (7,000 people).
This program operates in synergy and complementarity with the various initiatives of the EU, the WFP and the Congolese authorities as part of the strengthening of agro-food value chains, like the Support project for small bean producers, the Capacity Building Project for Fish Culture Sector Actors and the Commercial and Entrepreneurial Capacity Building Program.
For the monitoring and implementation of program activities, an agreement is concluded between the Ministry of Planning, the EU and WFP. “Beyond the difficult health context in the Congo, it is essential to mitigate the economic impact of the epidemic.
With this project, we will continue to support the country in the fight against poverty while strengthening the security of supply in rural and urban areas ”, explained the Ambassador of the European Union, Raul Mateus Paula, in a press release. recently released press release.
La Bouenza was chosen as the pilot region for obvious reasons. “It’s because there is potential and know-how in this department which is on the verge of the cassava boom. Note that groups of manufacturers from Bouenza are already exporting their gari to Libreville, “said Jean-Martin Bauer.
The EU and MAP plan to expand the project across the country in the future.
