The Republic of Congo envisions to diversify its economy by developing environmentally friendly farming, to contribute to food self-sufficiency and to improve the living standards of the population. Fulfilling this objective requires guidance for the spatial allocation of agricultural activities, conservation areas and infrastructures, in order to minimize trade-offs between productivity, economic profitability, biodiversity conservation, and other sectors of activity such as mining, forestry, while acknowledging the economic development goal of Congo, requiring new roads, industries transformation, and social infrastructure.
The Driving agroecological transitions in the humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa through traNsdisciplinary Agroecology Living LabS (CANALLS) project, funded by the European Union (2022-2026), aims at driving agroecological transitions in the humid tropics of Central and Eastern Africa via 8 ‘Agroecology Living Labs’ located in DRC, Burundi, Cameroon and Rwanda.
Agroecology is an approach to food production that harnesses nature’s goods and services whilst minimizing adverse environmental impacts, and improves farmer-consumer connectivity, knowledge co-creation and inclusive relationships among food system actors.
With an estimated 15% of all agricultural soils in Africa being affected, soil acidity is a major constraint to (current and future) crop production on the continent. As a response, several governments in East Africa - including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda - have initiated strategic plans toward substantial public investments for the rehabilitation of acid soils.