Members of the Central African Republic delegation included Mrs. Corine Niox and Mr. Steve Gounji (ENABEL program in support of rural development), Mr. Ngaïssona-Touadoka (MADR - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) and Mr. Dominique Ngozo (Interprofession of the Palm Oil sector)

After a short briefing on the regional mandate, education programs  and future developments prospects of ERAIFT, exchanges rapidly shifted to rural development issues with the ERAIFT scientific team (Pr. Jean-Pierre Mate, Academic Secretary for Research et Isaac Diansambu, PhD, internship supervisor « integrated management and development »). Discussions mainly focused on the future prospects of local palm oil activities, more specifically on issues of capacity building for local producers, from plantation preparations to market access.

Discussions turned really grassroots when visiting the ERAIFT field-level training facilities of ERAIFT, in the young arboretum an in the nursery. All agreed on the importance of using local know-how and locally available inputs in efforts to support local growers, for instance by using banana-leave or bamboo based containers when growing young palm oil plants, instead of onerous plastic bags.

ERAIFT extends its warm welcome to the ENABEL delegation for its visit and interest.

On Thursday April 7, the site of ERAIFT in Yangambi received a delegation led by Mr. Patrick Van Alphen, consisting of the wife of the Belgian ambassador, Mrs. Dagmar Indekeu, and the president of the Order of Malta Mr. De Liedekerke, and 12 other people. The visit aimed to show to the delegation essentially constituted by Belgians, that results of research conducted in the DRC, particularly in Yangambi can be useful in Central Africa as well as at the international level. Their visit was to see the herbarium as well; the largest collection in DRC whose herbarium has been digitized thanks to the financing of Belgium, according the president of the Order of Malta who also expressed regard to the Congolese researchers who stay in Yangambi to do the fieldwork while, considering their education level, could go elsewhere and earn more but, they chose to serve the DRC and the whole world by staying in Yangambi. The delegation arrived in Yangambi at 12:00 and returned to Kisangani at 14:00, after visiting the library of INERA-Yangambi, the Guest House, and the herbarium.

Family photo at the end of the visit to the INERA-Yangambi library

ERAIFT thanks INERA and all its partners, notably CIFOR, RSD, and Enabel, for accompanying the delegation. ERAIFT sincerely thanks the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union for their financial support in the Yangambi landscape.

The round table was organized by the Belgian Development Cooperation Agency (ENABEL). A large audience of various stakeholders (Ministries, local authorities, growers and technicians) took part to the event and discussed the future prospects of the palm oil sector in DRC.

The director of ERAIFT and rector of IFA-Yangambi, Professor Baudouin Michel, participated to an expert panel focusing on the environmental challenges linked to the development of the palm oil sector in DRC. Palm oil is a favourable and promising activity for local producers, with a strong demand on the local market and exponential positive trends on regional and international markets. But the fulfilment of the economic potential of the sector requires proper and increased management measures in order to maintain and protect ecological balances in the forest zones where plantations are grown.

In discussions with the Ministry of Environment (MEDD), WWF, ENABEL and civil society organizations, Professor Baudouin Michel stressed the key importance of integrating expectations and logics of local growers in the future strategies. He also stressed that potentially favourable regions for palm oil growing are various and multiple in DRC, and that support strategies had to be tailored and adapted to local specificities in order to be efficient in the long run.

ERAIFT and IFA-YANGAMBI extend their warm thanks to ENABEL for the invitation to take part to the round table.

This Saturday, April 2, the Director of ERAIFT visited the vegetable seed farm of CEPROSEM (http://www.ceprosem.com/) located in Kimbondo.

Founded in 2005 thanks in particular to funding from the European Union, this farm is an example of viability and relevance in peri-urban agriculture.

With the support of PACODEL (University of Liège), ERAIFT has developed 5 doctoral theses in joint supervision with the University of Liège targeting the theme of peri-urbanity.

ERAIFT thanks the CEPROSEM management for the invitation and congratulates all the CEPROSEM staff for the quality of maintenance and management.