Project profile — Development of Renewable Charcoal

The project, one of ten funded under the Canada Fund for African Climate Resilence, aims to reduce poverty and increase food self-sufficiency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by increasing the production of renewable charcoal (makala) on farms that interplant acacia trees with cassava and corn. The project supports training in agro-forestry and entrepreneurship for 200 households and 20 graduates from the Institut Supérieur Agro vétérinaire (ISAV), all located on the outskirts of the capital city of the RDC, Kinshasa. The project aims to improve the marketing of agricultural products and contributes to the creation of employment while partly responding to the food and energy needs of these communities. The project also supports the Institute's graduates in starting businesses in which they are offered a parcel of land through a business incubator program, to implement this agro-forestry model, generating an annual household income of up to $15,000. Finally, the project seeks to develop 100 hectares of acacia trees on Institute's land to carry out applied research in agro-forestry, including the establishment of a tree nursery.

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (i) increased agricultural productivity and improved quality of soils resulting from an increase area of leguminous Acacia species for fuel wood production and soil improvement; (ii) increased household use of appropriate management tools leading to increased understanding and ability to confront climate change; (iii) start-up of an agroforestry entreprise by graduates of l’Institut supérieur agro-vétérinaire (ISAV), which integrates into its programs effective approaches to climate resilience.

Results achieved by the end of the project (March 2014) include: 1) 173 householders trained in agroforestry and gender equality; 2) 226.5 hectares converted to agroforestry; and 3) 15 new agroforestry models established. These results helped to establish an agroforestry system incorporating crops, trees and animals, commonly known as agro-forestry-pastoral system, that allows incubated households to generate additional income.