Congo/Sustainable development: the United States releases three billion CFA francs for Congo

On July 1 in Brazzaville, Ingrid Olga Ghislaine Ebouka-Babackas, Minister of Planning, Statistics and Regional Integration, together with Eugene Young, US Ambassador to the Congo, and Zeric Smith, Deputy Regional Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), signed the sixth amendment to the Sustainable Development Goal Grant Agreement (SDGGA).

An additional five million dollars to support the Congo in preserving vast natural resources by improving the livelihoods of local communities is our priority", said the US ambassador to the Congo.liking the livelihoods of local communities is our priority", declared the US ambassador to Congo, before noting :"This contribution represents much more than financial resources. It represents a commitment to invest in the Congo, which has great potential and is essential to the stability of the global system as a whole".

Beyond the fight against climate change, Congo and the United States are working together, according to the American diplomat, to offer opportunities to the people who live in and around the forests.

For the Minister of Planning, this sixth amendment reaffirms Congo's commitment to greater cooperation in a partnership geared towards a green and resilient economy, a source of jobs for young people.

"We have gone from 25 to 50 million dollars following five consecutive amendments, with an increasingly broad target. We're going to extend the duration of the project to align with the National Development Plan (NDP). But we know that the issue of biodiversity and conservation will go beyond the NDP," she declared.

Equipment and subsidies for farming groups

Fourteen agricultural groups in the Sangha and Likouala departments received equipment and funding to develop their activities at the same ceremony. They include farming groups in the Pokola and Sembé districts, as well as a cooperative, Nkita ya zamba. Twelve cocoa groups received materials and equipment worth a total of 129,658,000 FCFA. The other two, involved in non-timber forest products, received materials and equipment worth 18,718,000 FCFA. The Nkita ya zamba cooperative received financial and technical support worth 47,530,000 FCFA.

Beneficiaries of these grants will improve the productivity and yield of their cocoa plantations, adding value and developing new by-products. For their part, the other groups will work to strengthen collectors' traditional knowledge and introduce sustainable practices for harvesting and processing, storing and marketing non-timber forest products.

"Our friends in the United States are already showing us the way to take into account what ecosystems can bring in terms of income to local communities and indigenous people. We need to move towards formalizing these production units", said Rosalie Matondo, Minister of Forest Economy.

This financial and technical support is part of the project "Promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises to improve social well-being and reduce the overexploitation of forests".duire la surxploitation des animaux sauvages et la destruction des forêts", CEERC, financed by Usaid, as part of the Regional Program for the Environment in Central Africa. It is being implemented for a five-year period (2021-2026), under the supervision of the Ministry of Forest Economy, with technical support from the Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. CEER aims to reduce threats to biodiversity and Congolese forests by developing sustainable economic models.

The ceremony was attended by Lydie Pongault, Minister of Cultural Industry, Tourism, Arts and Leisure, and Jacqueline Lydia Mikolo, Minister of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.

Source: www.adiac-congo.com