Agriculture

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Agricultural activities in the Central African region have been predominantly linked to village agriculture, that mainly supplies local markets and nearby urban centers. This production often involves inefficient land practices as farmers lack access to capital and adequate risk-management mechanisms to sustainably increase yields.

To date, industrial agriculture has had limited impact on forest cover - with the exception of oil palm and rubber plantations, set up near large roads. Yet, due to growing local, regional and international demand and the increasing role of agro-business, commercial agriculture has and will have an increasing impact on forests in all CAFI countries. The conclusions of our ongoing regional drivers study will shed light on the most recent (2015-2020) trends and practices. 

One of CAFI's outcomes is to maximize investments in agricultural models that reduce pressure on forests.

Our results

In the DRC

• The technical Cell now established in the Ministry of Agriculture elaborated a first draft of the national Sustainable Agricultural Policy, on the basis of new diagnosis studies 
• 1 201 local development committees and 25 rural agricultural committees have been established or strengthened across 8 provinces of the DRC where most deforestation happens, where they are developing natural resources management plans
• Over 6300 hectares of perennial crops - palm oil, coffee, cocoa and fruit trees  - planted (app. 3400 hectares in forest areas and 2900 in savannah areas) to amplify and diversify agricultural revenues while reducing pressure on forests
• Over 10,000 hectares of improved crops of rice, maize, manioc, peanuts established with rural households to obtain better-yielding subsistence agriculture.
• Sentinels established to monitor major deforestation events linked to agriculture in 5 territories

In Gabon, the UNDP-supported programme approved in 2020 focuses on analyzing agricultural suitability (helping the Ministry to improve the national soil map, conduct soil suitability studies, establish a laboratory for Geographic Information Systems and for soil analysis and strengthening technical capacity within the Department of Agriculture). This programme helps plan priority crops and complement the national land use planning process supported by CAFI. Construction of the Laboratory for soil analysis is well underway. 

In the Republic of Congo, the pipeline of programming supporting agriculture is developing :  

• The French Development Agency (AFD) was requested, through a decision of the Prime Minister with CAFI, to develop a Land Use Planning Programme (15 million US $ of CAFI funding), that will include strategic activities from other key sectors, notably a cartography of the agricultural estate. AFD was also requested to establish a portfolio of activities to undertake operational investments in the agriculture and forestry sectors, building on the findings and first results of the Land-use Planning programme, of between 15 and 20 million US $. Both programmes are to be co-funded by AFD.
• The World Bank was requested to integrate, by the end of 2020, 15 million US $ of co-financing from the CAFI Trust Fund into it restructured ”Project to support the Development of Commercial Agriculture "(Projet d’Appui au Développement de l’Agriculture Commerciale), with a specific focus on direct investments in agricultural development in savannah areas and efforts to implement the National Investment Plan for Climate-Smart agriculture and improve its legal framework