Training and market connections produce happy rice growers

03-09-2024

Written by Merveille Kakule Saliboko, communications consultant DR Congo

Thanks to Agriterra's training courses, the members of the ADPA cooperative are seeing their production increase significantly. By adapting  the good farming practices they have learned, they use less seed to produce more rice. These good farming practices have been introduced through to the TRIDE project, Transition for Inclusive Development in Eastern DRC, implemented by Agriterra as part of its support for farming cooperatives.

Mapenzi Gabriel Bosco works for the ADPA cooperative, based in Luvungi, in the province of South Kivu in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Within this cooperative, Bosco is responsible for sales and marketing. But he also supports the producers in the production process.

Mapenzi Gabriel Bosco

Increased production

"Thanks to the TRIDE project, Agriterra has shown us how to plant rice with a spacing of 20 centimetres. You have to plant one by one, and what you plant will grow. This is due to the fact that we use fertilisers, which are called ‘base fertilisers’ or ‘organic fertilisers’. We can use cow dung and combine it with bat dung, then apply it to the field. This makes it easier for the field to produce in quantity. As soon as we finish planting and have already poured the fertiliser, we enter the weeding stage. The seed has to be arranged twice", says Bosco.

He continues: "When the seed has grown, the nursery must be 14 days old. After 14 days, we harrow it. Then we uproot the nursery and  plant in the field. In line with the spacing. The line must also be respected and it must be flat. A single plant will grow very tall. Over the course of its growth, it will reach 35 tales, and it's these 35 that grow until the end."

G20, a school for learning

Mtuze Kalala is a member of a group of 20 farmers set up within the ADPA cooperative to pass on and practise good farming practices. This agri-lead thanks Agriterra. "Agriterra brought us together as a group of 20 and  and showed us how we should farm. Before, to cultivate a square, we used a lot of fertiliser. Today, I realise that this was a waste. After receiving training from Agriterra, I now farm intelligently."

Mtuze Kalala
 
Kalala then launches into a lengthy explanation, using figures to back up his point. "Today, we use 30 kg of seed per hectare, and with that, you can finish your hectare and have a good harvest. But before, you'd finish off half a sack of seed without even managing to sow the whole hectare. Because we weren't using the fertiliser properly and because it was piled up, the rice plants didn't look very good", says Kalala.

"When Agriterra came in to train us, we had 246 members. Agriterra taught us that members should pay up their shares when they join, and that's how production grew", adds Bosco.

"Today, we plant one by one and in rows, and you'll see that everything is fine. You used to plant a whole hectare and if you were lucky, you'd produce 2 or 2 and a half tonnes. But today, if you plant a whole hectare and follow the training instructions, you'll have between 3 and a half and 4 tonnes", says Kalala.

Improved well-being of members

"We received the purchase order for 1,000 tonnes from ADPA. We responded by delivering. We received another order for 366 tonnes in 2021 and we met the buyer's requirements. In 2022, we received a firm order for 350 tonnes, and we met it. And now we've already honoured an order for 550 tonnes" », says Bosco, with a smile on his face.  All these orders not only help the cooperative to be economically viable, but also transform the lives of its members. 

"It has helped the members, who have harvested a lot and sold the produce to the cooperative. This money has helped some of them to buy their own fields, and even those who were renting have bought. Those who already had their own fields and were cultivating 4 hectares, for example, went on to 5. Those who were cultivating 4 squares, went to 8. Because all ADPA members have to start with 4 squares, i.e. 0.25 ares", explains Mapenzi.

The increase in productivity has a positive effect on the life of the agri-lead Kalala. "Because you can let your children study in peace, and do other tasks without worry’, he says, smiling. Before pleading: ‘We hope Agriterra will continue to equip us with training so that we become professional rice growers."