Field Visit Report: INERA (Institut National pour l'Etude et la Recherche Agronomique), Mvuazi Station, Bas-Congo, RD Congo

Prepared : Ad Spijkers, FAOR, D.R. Congo

Duration : 21 – 22 July 2000

Summary: In view of a concern on the prevalent phytosanitary situation of cassava in DRC, a team of stakeholders from different organizations based in Kinshasa, including FAO visited the INERA station in Mvuazi, Bas-Congo. Research and development activities are carried out in this station on livestock, food crops including cassava, grain legumes (common beans, groundnuts, soya, cowpea etc.), cereals (rice and maize), banana and fruit trees. Bas-Congo is the only province having a narrow outlet to the sea. Its population of about 3 millions inhabitants represents 6.4 % of the total population and making it one of the most crowded areas with 55 inhabitants per km². Kisantu and Mvuazi are located in this province with 53.920 km² (2.3 % of the total country area). This part of the country, near to the capital, is considered to be its granary as the agricultural products can be easily evacuated to Kinshasa. Bas-Congo is therefore of strategic importance for the food security to the capital which has an estimated population of 7 million inhabitants.

With a multidisciplinary team of 17 qualified scientists and an adequate number of technicians, all residing at the station, INERA Mvuazi has maintained a good minimum level of qualitative field work in addition to the rather well maintained infrastructure including laboratories and training facilities. The institute needs to be strengthened and plays an active role in the food security sector. There is a pertinent need to revitalize its collaboration with regional and international organizations (IITA, FAO, EC, Bilateral Cooperation). Unlike in the East of the country where the main focus is on emergency projects, in this part ( i.e. Bas-Congo and other provinces in the West), emphasis could be placed gradually on development and technical assistance initiatives. This is done already by some bilateral organizations. FAO could play a pioneering role in contacting different partners to assist the INERA in the application of its research results to the farmer’s families.

The mission took the opportunity to visit, the ‘Jules Van Lancker (JVL)’ company (with an area of 50 000 ha), close to the INERA station. This company, from Belgian origin has cow ranches (23 000 cattle), pigs farms and other activities in the agricultural sector all important for the food supply to the capital. The presence of this enterprise is essential for road maintenance, electrical power connection to the national grid, marketing and social activities in surrounding villages and farmers communities.

1.General

Cassava is the most important food crop in the DR Congo and plays a key role in food security. Following the prevalent pandemic diseases situation on the crop, a working group has been initiated since June 2000. This group includes stakeholders on cassava research and development activities, like the Ministry of Agriculture, INERA (DRC NARS), donors (European Union and Belgian Cooperation), international and national NGOs and FAO. The group consults on national cassava strategy in a practical national vision that could be translated into plans and actions to safeguard and promote cassava production. A team of eight persons including one delegate each from the European Union and Hanns Seidel Foundation, the Deputy Cabinet Director of the Minister of Agriculture, two FAO staff (FAOR and NPO), two FAO national consultants and one representative from INERA HQ in Kinshasa took part on this field visit.

2. Mvuazi station

INERA’s Mvuazi station is one of the main agricultural research stations having a mandate for Bas-Congo and Bandundu Provinces. This station is located at about 250 km west of Kinshasa and has activities on livestock, food crops including cassava, grain legumes (common beans, groundnuts, soya, cowpea etc.), cereals (rice and maize), banana and fruit trees. There is a total of 17 qualified scientists. The center of Mvuazi has good offices, laboratory, training and housing facilities including twenty senior staff houses and a newly built administrative building in addition to an impressive old but well maintained building for laboratories and scientists offices. INERA Mvuazi has a Research and Development Program working in collaboration with NGOs and national extension service for technology transfer. It could be a good starting point for the Farmers Field Schools approach.

3. Field Observations

• Laboratories: The first laboratory is on cassava biochemist for cyanogenic potential (CNP) determination using a semi-quantitative method. This laboratory has the equipment for the quantitative enzymatic determination of CNP but lacks most of the reagents. It is also working on cassava processing and products diversification including bread from a mixture of cassava and wheat flour. The second one is dealing with cassava pests using biological control methods as one of the components of their IPM strategies while the third is a pathology laboratory backstopping the breeding program in screening for diseases resistance. The fourth laboratory is still being set up for tissue culture activities and is not yet operational due to lack of chemicals. The newly introduced 2000 cassava plants from 200 IITA elite clones, which we brought along, have been stored in this laboratory before being transferred in the humidity chambers.
• Farmers' fields: farmers fields around Kisantu were visited including locations showing the adoption by a farmer of improved INERA's cassava varieties for their good resistance to major diseases compared to local varieties. Other fields visited belong to a group of farmers working on cassava, rice, beans and other crops such as vegetable. These farmers benefit from advice of INERA's scientists who visit them regularly for variety (mainly cassava) and other technology adoption.
• Field trials at Mvuazi station: cassava, banana and late maturing rice trials were still in the field while other trials for grain legumes and maize were already harvested. Cassava breeding trials from the seedling nursery to most advanced yield evaluation, cassava/ rice intercropping trial, and banana trial on introduced germplasm evaluation were among the trials visited in addition to fruit trees grafting and seedling nursery. In general, all the trials are well set with well-defined objectives and all made a good impression.
• Multiplication fields: about 12 ha of well-maintained and impressive cassava multiplication fields of improved INERA's varieties were visited. This material will be used as a starting stock for the proposed TCP project on multiplication and distribution of clean cassava cuttings in Bas-Congo and Kinshasa. Basic seeds from grain legumes and cereals already harvested are kept in a well-built store.
• Livestock activities: about 120 trypanosome resistant "Ndama" pedigree stock of cow is maintained as parental material for multiplication. With funding from the Governor of Bas-Congo, INERA is rearing and multiplying swine hybrid progenies from a cross between imported and local races. With an initial stock of 5 heads, the station has now a swine herd of 44 heads after less than six months.

The library exists but has no access to new books or scientific and technical journals. There is a need to improve the library by training the librarian and have the station on the mailing list of FAO, IITA, etc. Only one pick-up and one newly acquired tractor are operational in the car park of several vehicles.

4. Future action

• Technology transfer: it is very instrumental that the work of INERA Mvuazi be applied to the farmer families of Bas-Congo and beyond. In collaboration with SNV (national extension service), FAO and NGOs, INERA's Research and Development Program should embark on a full scale technology transfer process. Existing technologies generated by INERA could be therefore adopted in a sustainable way using Farmers Field Schools methodology including participatory Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Participatory IPM is an approach to agricultural extension that is farmer-driven and has proved very useful in helping farmers to understand and practice IPM. The proposed TCP request from the Government, sent to Hq’s on 25 of July on "Multiplication and distribution in Bas-Congo and Kinshasa of clean cassava cuttings from resistant varieties" is in line with this approach. The approval will give a direct impetus to the many fold problems related to the Cassava production and fits well in the recently adopted global cassava strategy.
• Revitalization of collaboration with IITA and other organizations: INERA's structural cooperation has gone down to some sporadic assistance including visits, workshops. New contacts have been established between INERA, FAO and IITA in Nigeria since March 2000.This is important and we believe that this tripartite initiative can be further developed. The European Commission in Kinshasa has indicated to be willing to consider the proposed cooperation. This could bring an interesting perspective in view of the ongoing preparation for the SPFS. So far the contacts have resulted in the training of an INERA cassava scientist at IITA – Ibadan and the introduction in DRC in July 2000 of tissue cultured cassava plants from IITA. The present activities need to be pursued actively.

Kinshasa, 30 July 2000