Successful agro-pastoral assistance brings hope back to North Kivu

Referred to as the “little Switzerland of Congo”, Masisi is a beautiful territory in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Yet just like the neighboring Walikale Territory, conflicts have been ravaging these picturesque landscapes for over two decades. If these mountains could speak, they would tell us horrific stories of the violence they witnessed and the blood that has run through them for too long. In the eastern provinces of the DRC, at least 70 armed groups are active. For more than 20 years, severe insecurity has triggered massive waves of population displacement within North Kivu. With some 957,000 internally displaced people as of June 2017, North Kivu is the province most affected by internal displacement nationwide.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has the reputation of being endowed with a very fertile land that produces tons of produce. Yet over 4 million people suffer from malnutrition. Children is the group of people most affected by malnutrition with 3.5 million of them affected, including nearly 2 million who suffer from the most severe form of malnutrition. Also, almost 45 percent of deaths of children less than 5 years old are attributable to different types of malnutrition.

In addition to severe insecurity, poor road conditions are another challenge faced by the population and the humanitarian community in the province. One single road connects the big towns of Masisi and Walikale. As pictured above, it is in such terrible conditions that many vehicles get bogged down in mud for days. It goes without saying that it is even more true during the rainy season that lasts most of the year. These physical access problems pose a serious threat to people and hamper the delivery of food and other goods to civilians who live between these two towns. Every year, tons of produce that could feed these malnourished people are left to rot on these roads.

With less than 3,000 km of asphalted roads and over 150,000 km of trails, dense forest, lots of bodies of water, DRC is the scene of a logistical nightmare for humanitarian operations and the general population. Last year, the logistics cluster reported that the main access constraints were located in North Kivu Province. Pictured above is a common scene of solidarity on the road that connects Masisi to Walikale where many vehicles get bogged down in mud for days.

Given the urgent necessity to address food insecurity in this part of the country, the DRC Humanitarian Fund decided to assist the national NGO Association for Integral Development (ALDI) in its actions in favor of the particularly vulnerable population for a 22-month period. Mabuanano and Odette (pictured above) invited us in their home and happily shared their experience with us. They told us how the agro-pastoral assistance funded by the DRC Humanitarian Fund changed their daily life by significantly increasing their harvests and income. All beneficiary households not only received improved seeds and farming tools but also participated in trainings on good agricultural practices which helped them to significantly maximize their harvests. Prior to these trainings, most farmers were not aware of the necessity to plow the fields deeply, align and give space to the seeds while not mixing them. Now the beneficiaries keep some of their harvests for their own consumption, sell part of it at the local market and keep the remaining part in preparation for the next cropping seasons.

In January 2015, insecurity forced Bernadette -67-year-old widow (pictured above)- to flee from Kashebere to seek refuge in Goma. At the end of 2015, an apparent return to calm prompted her to return to Kashebere. Upon her return, she found nothing of her previous life and had no shelter like so many others returnees. Surrounded by her grandchildren, she enthusiastically listed the assistance she received from ALDI: two goats, farming tools, a hygiene kit and a USD 80-dollar coupon to purchase non-food items (NFIs)at the fair organized by ALDI. Just like all beneficiary households, she also received 15 kg of improved seeds and participated in a training on good agricultural practices which allowed her to maximize her harvest. She sold part of it and kept the remaining part for her own consumption and for the next cropping seasons. Aware of her fortune in receiving assistance, she even offered the third part of her harvest to households whom she considered less fortunate than herself.

Through their project, ALDI assisted 20,000 vulnerable people — internally displaced people, host families or returnees. Jackie is one of these displaced people who benefited from this assistance. She proudly showed us her field of cabbages that she has been fruitfully cultivating and selling to the local market for the past year. All beneficiaries of this project received over 13 tons of improved seeds, 10,000 farming tools and 8,000 animals.

In order to assist the beneficiaries in an empowering and suitable manner, ALDI organized a fair for essential household items. For beneficiaries with special needs such as Maurice (pictured above) who suffers from partial paralysis in his legs, it was a perfect opportunity to purchase a sewing machine and rent a sewing workshop similar to the one he lost along all his belongings when his village of origin was attacked by armed men in 2015. Nowadays, Maurice teaches sewing to nine displaced women including Wivine (to his left). Thanks to the income generated by his work, Maurice provides financial assistance to his nine apprentices and saves enough to provide a sewing machine to all of them. As for his spouse, she significantly increased her agricultural output. The income generated enables her to feed her family properly and pay school fees for their six children.

Enthusiastic about the significant improvement of their lives, more and more beneficiaries consider the option of joining an agricultural cooperative or a peasant organization to combine their forces with other famers and strengthen their resilience. In Kashebere, we met members of the AJASHID agricultural cooperative that consists of 25 households. ALDI provided them with 16 female goats, 2 male goats and 75 chickens as well as improved seeds, farming tools and agro-pastoral training. The NGO also provided them with a mill (pictured above) to process crops such as beans.

Twice a week, local farmers gather at the local market in Kashebere. Many people who benefited from the assistance provided by ALDI sell their produce at the market. The 20,000 beneficiaries of ALDI’s assistance can now look into the future as they now eat three meals a day, send their children to school and cover their medical bills. Some of them even started their own business. Bernadette is one of them. The 45-year-old widow purchases clothes from Masisi, which she sells in her village. She can now send all her children to school and better assist the eight IDPs whom she has been hosting since 2015.
Elodie Sabau is Public Information and Advocacy Officer for OCHA DRC in Kinshasa.
