Democratic Republic of Congo:
Food security
Strengthening resilience and autonomy in the province of Kasai Oriental​
Project: CARE Belgium
Location: Province of Kasai Oriental, DRC
Context:
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Since its independence from Belgium in 1960, after more than 75 years of occupation, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has had to cope with numerous internal conflicts, inheriting a fragile colonial structure that left a highly diverse population, fragmented both ethnically and regionally. Added to this are external influences, such as the funding of militias and armed groups by neighboring countries, power struggles between different political elites that have led to periods of severe instability, and the country's wealth in natural resources, which arouses intense covetousness and fuels the race for control of these resources. Despite this wealth, the DRC remains one of the poorest countries in the world, with a very low GDP per capita and a largely informal economy.
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The Kasaï region in the south of the DRC is particularly affected by inter-community tensions, which fuel wider conflicts involving militias and armed groups, considerably deteriorating the country's humanitarian situation. These conflicts intensified in 2016 following the succession dispute surrounding the customary chief Kamuina Nsapu. The violence continued in the form of inter-community confrontations and revolts against state institutions due to the marginalization of local communities.
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The need to implement development projects in this region is paramount, as state management, marked by a logic of clientelism, has led to the Kasaï region being abandoned, leaving essential social services underdeveloped and reinforcing inequalities in the country. Conflicts in the KasaÏ have led to the displacement of thousands of families who, fleeing the violence, have taken refuge in safe zones where they have lost access to their possessions and essential services such as health, education, water and sanitation, increasing the risk of epidemics (notably cholera). Currently, around 3.8 million people need humanitarian aid in KasaÏ.
General objective
To contribute to improving the food and nutritional security of the most vulnerable farming households, by mobilizing a context-sensitive, gender- and environment-sensitive approach to direct support and advice in the Miabi, Lupatapata, Katanda and Tshilenge territories.​
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Period of execution: July 2024 - July 2027 ​​​
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Beneficiaries: ​​​​1000 vulnerable households in Kasaï Oriental province
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Main Donor: Enabel
Specific objectives
The project's specific objectives are structured around several complementary axes aimed at improving conditions for the most vulnerable farms. The first objective is to increase their resilience and autonomy in the face of various shocks, whether economic, environmental or climatic, in order to strengthen their physical and financial assets. This approach aims to significantly increase beneficiaries' incomes and improve their food and nutritional security, thanks to an integrated approach that combines collective and individual action on beneficiaries' fields, recognizing that family farming and group farming are mutually reinforcing.
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The second specific objective is to build the capacity of farm managers by promoting the adoption of innovative and sustainable farming practices, in order to reduce their economic and food vulnerability. This approach contributes to improving the sustainability of agricultural practices used by the most vulnerable households to manage their farms. Through individualized advisory support and appropriate technical training, vulnerable farmers will be able to implement at least one innovative and sustainable farming practice (crop rotations/combinations, use of biopesticides, improved fallow, composting, green manures, use of improved varieties, agroforestry practices).
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Finally, the third objective is to develop their economic and financial management skills, while promoting a greater role for women in farm decision-making processes. This approach aims to strengthen the economic and financial management skills of the most vulnerable farm managers, as well as the leadership and role of women in strategic and operational decision-making at farm level. Thanks to this result, the economic empowerment of beneficiaries will be strengthened through their access to alternative income-generating activities. Direct beneficiaries will be trained and supported to keep simplified accounts for their individual and cooperative activities. Transformative training on gender and the involvement of men in positive masculinity and the fight against Gender-Based Violence will be organized so that the women concerned by direct support to the most vulnerable households can be involved in decision-making concerning management at farm and household level. In addition, through this result, the number of women with direct and integral responsibility for at least one production and/or agricultural processing and/or marketing activity will have increased.