In order to increase agricultural production and achieve some level of food self-sufficiency, private sector actors are called upon to invest in the acquisition of agricultural machinery. The chief of staff of the Minister of Agriculture, Michel Elenga, launched this appeal on December 7, on the occasion of the commissioning of the tractor of the company “Le Grenier”, acquired thanks to the intervention of the Project of ‘support for the development of commercial agriculture (Pdac), via its shared-cost fund.
“The mechanization of agriculture remains a challenge for the Congo. Because, to work on large areas, you need machines. If we could multiply this kind of experience it would help to increase agricultural production. The acquisition of agricultural machinery is no longer the responsibility of the state, private individuals must take the lead, “said Michel Elenga.
The coordinator of the said project, Isidore Ondoki, for his part, indicated: “We wanted to encourage this beneficiary for his mechanization project, in order to show Congolese private individuals that they can acquire a tractor allowing them to develop their activities under form of service to agriculture. “
“It must be said that the beneficiaries of agricultural services such as mechanization are not that many. We need to work at the level of the ministry with agro-pastoral actors, so that if ever there is a fundraising campaign for the Pdac, that they set up the mechanization projects “, he noted.
Thanking the project for being selected, the Director of Operations at “Grenier Sarl”, Manuelo Firmin, admitted that with its own resources, the company was not going to be able to purchase this equipment. “I hope that this project will continue to support players in the sector,” he stressed.
Note that the 80 hectares on which the new tractor plows and sprays for the first time belong to the company Presta Multi Service, also a beneficiary of Pdac. Located in Yié in the Igne district, on this site will be erected cassava and corn plantations.
“Under the Pdac, when a beneficiary wants to develop his activity in the savannah, the minimum space required by the Pdac is 25 ha. Thus, we encourage the Congolese to produce a lot in order not only to feed the populations but also to export our products, ”Isidore Ondoki said.
Speaker, the manager of Presta Multi service, Koumaba Paul Emery, thanked the project for its assistance over the past two years. “I used to limit myself to 3 or at most 4 ha. Today, I farm 80 ha thanks to my alliance with Le Grenier through Pdac. », He indicated.
Funded by the Congo and the World Bank to the tune of CFAF 60 billion, the Pdac aims to improve the productivity of farmers and access to the market for producer groups and micro, small and medium-sized agro-industrial enterprises in the areas selected.
