Technological overview on urban and peri-urban horticulture in DRC - Case Lubumbashi | Apercu technologique sur l'horticulture urbaine et periurbaine de la RDC - cas de la ville de Lubumbashi

For over ten years, the Democratic Republic of Congo’s horticulture programme has operated through the National Support Service for Urban and Peri-urban Horticulture (SENAHUP), receiving financial support from the Kingdom of Belgium for the three phases of the project, which started in 2000 and will conclude in 2011. It has also received technical support from FAO for the implementation of the GCP/028/DRC/BEL project with the assistance of the Ministry of Rural Development. This programme focuses on a five-strategy approach for urban and peri-urban horticulture (UPH) development, which supports the country’s horticultural technologies by securing 1) access to resources (land and water); 2) high-quality horticultural produce; 3) political and institutional participation by all stakeholders in the UPH sector; 4) increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and securing market outlets; and 5) access to and dissemination of information. The program in DRC has provided the following outcomes and results: existence of a diagnosis-assessment (inventory) of the horticulture sector in ten cities of the DRC; existence of a formal commitment from public authorities; existence of an implementation plan of concrete actions in more than five cities; existence of information systems (reliable data in the procurement field, indicators measuring the effect of urban production on prices and diet) in five cities; existence of directories and mapping schemes covering more than 5,000 ha; existence of directories of more than 500 UPH growers’ associations; existence of directories of NGOs and partners; existence of directories of service providers; direct project intervention on 2,614 ha with 22,566 direct beneficiaries ensuring 451,320 jobs; 142,161 indirect UPH beneficiaries; a contribution of ±240,000 tonnes of fresh quality vegetables per year with an average income of $ 226/ares/crop/month; 16,130 beneficiaries of horticultural micro-credit; and a climatic capacity which allows the production of crops throughout the year.