News
Toronto, Canada: Promoting sustainable agriculture and economic self-sufficiency is a challenge and critical task in the eastern DRC. So to tackle this challenge, the Banro Foundation in 2015 shifted its primary focus to sustainable agriculture. This is being pursued mainly through the Fundi agricultural project, this project is located 15 kilometres from the Company’s Namoya mining project.
The Fundi project began in 2014 with the planting of 100 ha of maize and cassava. This initial crop is now being sold throughout the region in response to a local shortage of food, in particular maize. The second planting under this project, begun in late September 2015, has include maize, cassava and soybeans planted on 250 ha of land. The farm currently employs several people from neighbouring villages and Fundi village, and will employ many more local people as acreage grows over time.
The goals of Fundi project are to generate local employment and incomes, to provide a new food supply for the region and open new markets for locally grown produce and, perhaps most important, to serve as a model farm for people in the region and to transfer enhanced agricultural skills to local farmers. This last goal is being realized already. Banro’s Namoya gold mine is currently transitioning about 600 former artisanal miners into farming livelihoods at six separate villages. The Fundi farm assist these new farming communities, through the provision of hybrid seeds, the loan of tractors for ploughing and agricultural expertise.
The Banro Foundation has been asked by the Maniema provincial government to rehabilitate and manage the operations of the region’s only seed farm, located at Kisamaba in Maniema province. This is a major undertaking involving substantial investment and reconstruction of extensive farming and housing infrastructure and would be funded by international donors. The seed farm has the potential to play a far-reaching role in agricultural development in the region, providing much needed seeds to farmers at competitive prices throughout Maniema province and beyond. An agreement with the provincial government is currently being finalized.
Source: http://www.banro.com/news-events/news-releases