Congo River Tranquility
The unfulfilled agricultural potential of Africa's giant
Agriculture is the cornerstone of the Congolese economy and ‘employs’ three quarters of the working population. As the World Bank (WB) report phrases it: “Of all sources of growth, the agricultural sector has the greatest potential for poverty reduction.” With ample amount of sunshine and rainfall, why are the markets often so empty, only offering cassava, maize, rice, plantains and beans – literally!?! Cassava (Manioc) is the country's major food crop and is grown in all parts of the DRC – often claimed as their national dish, but actually quiet new. They make Fufu balls, chikwon (like a stick of bread made out of a thick glue) and ponde (a bitter tasting big leaf sort of spinach) out of it. Just like the Europeans took to the South-American potato, corn and cassava/manioc spread with the Portuguese arrival. By the end of the 15th century the Mexican corn and the Brazilian cassava started their conquest of Congolese cuisine. The cooking banana/pl...
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