DRC- The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced the issuance of a US$260.4 million loan to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to support the country’s Project to Support the Development of Value Chains as part of its backing for the Agriculture Transformation Programme (PADCV-PTA).
PADCV-PTA will cost US$311.6 million total. According to AfDB, US$250.4 million of the funding will be provided via the African Development Fund while the remaining US$10 million will be provided by the Transition Support facility (TSF).
The TSF is a special funding mechanism for countries like DRC undergoing periods of political and/or economic transition.
The DRC government and other private financiers are expected to provide the remaining US$51.2 million in funding.
According to the DRC government, PADCV-PTA will help enhance the country’s food self-sufficiency by boosting local production of staples like soya, maize, and cassava. The main objective of the Project is reducing large-scale food imports for the country, which totaled US$3 billion in 2023.
The Project aims to achieve an 80% increase in yields for targeted crops, along with boosting annual agricultural production by 1.68 million tonnes and private agricultural processing by 4.1 million tonnes over a five-year period. Additionally, it seeks to reduce the Democratic Republic of Congo’s annual food imports by $500 million.
This will be achieved primarily through rebuilding the country’s seed capital for these staple crops across the value chain. The goal is to improve yields in a climate-conscious manner and facilitate the access to value addition facilities, technologies and access to markets.
The government has also revealed it will oversee sowing in 295,000 hectares of cassava, soya, maize and rice using climate change resistant seeds. The fund will also set up 1,600 farmer field schools to provide the necessary training and provide extension services to farmers.
The Project will also make farm inputs available to the partnering farmers at the start of the cropping season, which will be repaid during harvest time. According to the government, this funding structure is intended to help farmers build their working capital and facilitate long-term access to the inputs.
The government will also utilize part of the loan to upgrade 600 kilometers of rural roads and open up production basins.
Through providing technology, training and enhanced access to the market, the Project is intended to mitigate vulnerability to external shocks like supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions and price fluctuations.
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