2024-03-01 11:55:41
In Congo-Brazzaville, agriculture is cited as a “priority of priorities” with a view to diversifying an economy dependent on oil. However, it has always been practiced with rudimentary means and the yields are meager. Faced with this observation, the National Agency for the Promotion of Research and Innovation Results (Anvri) is offering solutions based on new technologies through the Agritech project.
With our correspondent in Brazzaville, Loïcia Martial
At the rear of the Brazzaville scientific city, researchers have erected an educational garden. In well-spaced six-metre furrows, the plants, mainly vegetables, are watered using an application, to reduce human work, as this student testifies. “ The objective of the project is to connect agriculture, research and technological innovation “, he explains.
A 693 square meter greenhouse stands on the plot. Cultivation focuses on vegetable species. “ We have students who have theoretical knowledge with no basis in reality. Here, it’s like an educational support center where they will discover new technologies. These are linked to agriculture. However, we didn’t have this framework, that’s why we created it », explains Dr Edmond Sylvestre Miabangana, head of the educational garden.
The Agritech project was initiated following an analysis of the Congolese agricultural sector. Patrick Obel Okeli is general director of Anvri. “ We started with a general context; Congolese agriculture is still traditional. Therefore, agriculture is still peasant, with inefficient means of production. Today, in Congo, 70% of agricultural workers or producers are represented by women. So, we are witnessing a feminization of agriculture “, he says.
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Analyze soils to cultivate them better
Faced with a bleak picture and to improve yields, Anvri offers suggestions. “ Agricultural inputs must be used, including fertilizer, pesticides and good quality seeds. The other point is mechanization or reduction of arduousness. Mechanization and irrigation are essential today », pointe Patrick Obel Okeli.
But the Agritech project wants to go further. And use new technologies in this search for productivity. Anvri has developed an application – which has not yet been named – which allows, for example, the precise analysis of soil behavior.
An application mastered by Nasser Koumba, student in agro-economics at the National School of Agronomy and Forestry (Ensaf). “ With this application, you can easily know the PH of soils, plant diseases, but also humidity. It’s an application that allows us to know if we can water the plants or not “, he explains.
Congo has 10 million arable lands. Barely 3% are officially exploited. But its food imports are officially estimated at 700 billion CFA francs per year.
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