Mutshail Mutomb, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of the Democratic Republic of the Congo recently visited Mbuji-Mayi, in the Kasaï region, a region famous for mining. He was there to discuss diversifying the local economy by tapping into the region's agricultural potential.

Mutomb attended the China-DRC Forum on Mining hosted in Mbuji-Mayi at the time. Calling on participants, he stressed the need to invest in agriculture to address the DRC’s corn shortage.

"To all those who have money in the bank, know that my ministry is ready to accompany you to rebuild Kasai in the field of agriculture," said the minister. "My ministry, under the leadership of President Félix Antoine Tshisekedi, is here to facilitate investment opportunities in agriculture and food security," he added. 

During his stay in the Kasaï region, Mutomb also met with his provincial counterpart. With him, he highlighted soybean cultivation as a solution to malnutrition.  He also took the opportunity to identify potential farming areas and refine plans for the coming season.

Food security is a major challenge in Kasai and the DRC. Although the country has 80 million hectares of arable land and 4 million hectares of irrigable land, only 10% is used to date. 

In a recent speech, the Minister of the Economy mentioned a 10 million ton deficit in corn production, the country's main staple. Besides production, low investments in storage also contribute to the dependence on imported maize.

According to Mutshail Mutomb, other issues hampering agricultural production include heavy rains and disruptions to fertilizer supplies.  Mutomb counts on investors to help tackle these issues. In this regard,  a Swiss-based trading company is looking. to partner with local players in the agricultural value chain, particularly for processing and preservation equipment, to create solid production chains.

Georges Auréole Bamba