"This project brings together public investment, private sector engagement, skills development, and climate-smart solutions to help local producers compete and grow," said Cheick F. Kanté, World Bank Division Director for the Republic of Congo.
Photo: World Bank Group.
The World Bank Group announced that it has approved USD 60 million in financing to improve the competitiveness and resilience of poultry and aquaculture value chains in the Republic of the Congo—also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply Congo.
According to the World Bank's release, the project will focus on strengthening the foundations of competitive poultry and aquaculture sectors by improving access to quality and affordable inputs, including feed, fingerlings and day-old chicks; upgrading skills and technical capacity; and supporting productive, climate-resilient infrastructure in selected Protected Agricultural Zones.
In addition, it will also support reforms aimed at improving the regulatory and policy environment for private sector participation, as well as access to finance for farmers and private investors and the mobilization of private capital.
As for aquaculture, according to FAO's Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profile of Congo, it has very favorable natural conditions in the African country, with good weather, a variety of soils and numerous valleys suitable for the establishment of aquaculture facilities, in addition to an interesting fish fauna and planktonic flora.
However, the latest data available at the time of making that overview showed that aquaculture activity was still limited in the Republic of the Congo, with just 207 tons in 2017.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations explained that, following the conflicts of 1994, 1997 and 1998, all efforts to promote fish farming in suburban areas were thwarted, so the current situation is characterized by the transfer of state fish farms to private companies, while others are part of a rehabilitation program of the Technical Support Centre (CAT).
Thus, the FAO highlighted that, in addition to extensive farming still being preferred by farmers, private producers in rural areas operate under very difficult conditions, characterized by the near-total absence of extension agents, a lack of transportation for extension teams, and a lack of suitable aquaculture inputs.
Among these inputs, the UN organization particularly emphasized fry, feed, and organic fertilizers—precisely the type of supplies that this World Bank Group investment aims to support.
"Unlocking the potential of poultry and aquaculture can help Congo create more jobs, improve food and nutrition security, and build a more diversified and resilient economy," said Cheick F. Kanté, World Bank Division Director for the Republic of Congo, commenting on the purpose of the funding.
"This project brings together public investment, private sector engagement, skills development, and climate-smart solutions to help local producers compete and grow," Kanté added.
The World Bank Group expects that, by strengthening local value chains, expanding access to productive assets, improving skills and catalyzing private investment, the project will be able to generate more and better jobs for farmers, entrepreneurs, processors, traders and service providers, especially for women and young people.
The development of sustainable and climate-resilient value chains in Africa is a focus not only of the World Bank, but also of other international organizations such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which recently launched a project in South Sudan, in this case in collaboration with the country's government, for the development of sustainable and climate-resilient value chains for sorghum and fisheries.
The South Sudan project even includes as one of its objectives that, by 2027, the African country will become a fish exporter, an ambitious goal considering that, like the Congo Republic, it also relies on imports of fish and fishery products to meet national demand.