News About Congo

facing extreme risk of food shortages

Congo's food shortages are caused by poverty, poor agriculture development, mineral conflicts, and poor transportation infrastructure.

Feeding the world: which countries are most at risk?.

Poverty is a major source of food vulnerability but not the only one, said the study by Maplecroft, a Britain-based firm that provides risk intelligence for businesses.

"Food security is also affected by agricultural development, trade flows, foreign aid as well as government policies on nutrition," said Alyson Warhurst, a professor at Warwick Business School in central England and co-director of Maplecroft. "Added to these are the impacts of population growth and climate change," she told AFP.

The five countries topping the risk list -- Angola, Haiti, Mozambique, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo -- are all mired in poverty, but other factors also boost vulnerability.

Congo Gives South African Farmers Control Over 10 Million Hectares of Land

Congolese officials have not been known to negotiate good contracts.  So who got a GREAT deal, SA or DRC?

The South African farmers had been negotiating with Republic of Congo (ROC, Congo-Brazzeville).  Maybe, just maybe, the reporters cited the wrong Congo.  It is a common mistake!

Business Report - DRC deal gives SA farmers access to land.

South Africa had signed a deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that would give South African farmers access to up to 10 million hectares of land, Theo de Jager, the deputy president of union Agri SA, said yesterday.

The deal, potentially one of the largest land agreements on the continent and part of the DRC's plan to improve food security, would allow South African farmers to lease land for maize, soya beans, poultry, dairy cattle and other produce. De Jager said: "We have signed the agreement and it's initially for a 30-year renewable lease."

The deal included tax exemptions on importing agricultural inputs and equipment and allowed full expatriation of profits. - Reuters