Democratic Republic of Congo: revival of livestock farming on several farms in North Kivu

Livestock breeding is relaunched on several large farms in North Kivu, after more than ten years of bankruptcy due to the security instability that the province has experienced. As reported by Radio Okapi early last week, Independent breeders or farmers grouped in cooperatives have been resuming their activities for a few days, one of them said.

“Breeding has resumed on all the large farms in North Kivu. I can cite the farms of Lushebere, Hoso, Ngungu, Mahanga, Bunyole, Katoyi, …”, testifies Robert Seninga, a large breeder and owner of the Kahundu farm, on an area of ​​130 hectares counting 200 heads of cows.

North Kivu is an agro-pastoral province. It has about 200,000 head of cattle, spread over about fifty farms. The Masisi, known for its environment favorable to breeding and its climate, is therefore the first territory of North Kivu in terms of cattle and sheep. And, among the greatest farmers in the province, there are Emmanuel Kamanzi, Robert Seninga, Dunia Bakaranya, the priests of the farm of Lushebere, Kasole Shamoki, Ruvunda Sandro, Bertin Kirivita, …

Insecurity , the lack of road infrastructure and the lack of government support in this sector are, among other things, the major obstacles faced by helders specify the narrative.

This revival occurs at a pivotal time as it coincides with the official admission of the Democratic Republic of Congo to the East Africa Community (EAC) expected next week. On this point, the EAC Secretary-General Dr Peter Mathuki, in a letter to ministers in charge of the EAC docket in member states, confirmed that the Heads of State would approve the admission on March 29.

“We are in receipt of a letter dated 18th March from the chairperson of the Council of Ministers informing the Secretariat of the convening of an extraordinary summit on the admission of the DRC into the EAC on 29th, March 2022,” said Dr Mathuki.

Therefore, this new livestock dynamics will aim not only to meet domestic needs, but also to enhance export as part of the balance of trade among EAC member states.