The Democratic Republic of Congo Minister of Agriculture, His Excellency Désiré M’zinga Birihanze, has announced the commencement of the eagerly anticipated Agenda for the Transformation of Agriculture in the Democratic Republic of Congo (ATA-DRC) Program. He disclosed this while speaking with national and international media at a press conference co-organized with the ATA-DRC implementing partner, IITA. HE Birihanze highlighted the actions, which will be carried out within the framework of this initiative.
IITA Deputy Director, Central Africa Hub Zoumana Bamba explained the role of the Institute in the first phase of the program (2022‒2023) to the journalists. ATA-DRC is structured around priority areas to enable immediate impact. This includes the revival of the cassava, corn, rice, soybean, and bean seed sectors and capacity building for agricultural authorities set up by the Agricultural Voluntary Program (PVA) under the coordination of MINAGRI managed by the company (Bio Agronomic Business) (BAB). This capacity building aims to improve the production of seeds and high-quality cassava flour (HQCF).