Democratic Republic of Congo: Thematic Group issues final report of round table on agriculture

The Thematic Group of the Democratic Republic of Congo issued a final report of the agriculture roundtable entitled: "Towards a strategy of agricultural development, a solid base for economic revival," organized during March 2004 in collaboration with the local Government and supported by the Belgian Government.

A total of 82 experts participated in the conference, from Ministries (Agriculture, Research and Development, Finance, Economy, Rural Development, Environment and Health), the bilateral and multilateral cooperation sector (Germany, Belgium, USA, China, France, Japan, European Commission, FAO and WFP), the international financial institutions (World Bank, African Bank for Development) and the private sector (INERA, IITA). The aim of the roundtable was to develop a strategy that based economic growth and development on agricultural and rural sectors.

The main recommendations and conclusions from the roundtable are included in the final report as well as the commitments made by the Government, the national and international private sector, the national and international NGOs, donors and international financial institutions. A committee has been created to follow-up on the implementation of the commitments. Two policy advisors, financed by the Belgium government will assist in the task of fulfillment of the commitments. The policy advisors will work, one from the FAO representation and the other from the "Secretarìat General" of the Ministry of Agriculture. Among the already initiated tasks, are the restructuring of the Ministry of Agriculture and the updating of the rural sector and agriculture research strategies (Plan Directéur).

The roundtable held in March 2004 is a follow-up to the symposium on sustainable development and agriculture organized in February 2003 by the National Thematic Group on Rural Development and Food Security in this country (Read article published in the March 2003 Update).

Click here to read the documentation of the round table and the declaration.

For further information on the Thematic Group of the D.R. of Congo, send an e-mail to the FAO Representative at the following address: FAO-CD@fao.org or ad.spijkers@fao.org