General Information
· Main climates: Tropical Wet and Dry upland at 600 m above sea, Tropical Wet, Tropical Wet and Dry, Tropical Wet upland at 600 m above sea
· Total land area: 226 760 000 ha
· Internal renewable water resources: 935 km3
· Incoming water flow: 84 km3
· GNP per capita, 1998: PPP$ 733
· Main food consumed: Roots & tubers, Maize, Oil & fat, Fruits, Nuts
· Rice supply, 1999: 7.9 kg paddy/capita/year
Basic Statistics
|
|
1985 |
1990 |
1995 |
2000 |
|
RICE |
|
|
|
|
|
Harvested area (T ha) |
389.0 |
487.1 |
590.8 |
447.4 |
|
Yield (kg/ha) |
802 |
805 |
746 |
755 |
|
Production (T t) |
312.0 |
392.3 |
441.0 |
337.8 |
|
Imports (T t) |
40.0 |
85.0 |
70.7 |
NA |
|
Exports (t) |
NA |
NA |
NA |
NA |
|
OTHERS |
|
|
|
|
|
Population (M) |
31.66 |
37.36 |
45.42 |
NA |
|
Agr population (M) |
22.07 |
25.33 |
29.77 |
NA |
|
Irrigated agr area (T ha) |
9 |
10 |
11 |
NA |
|
Fertilizer cons (t) |
6800 |
6200 |
9000 |
NA |
|
Agr tractors in use (units) |
2250 |
2400 |
2430 |
NA |
Producing Zones and Cropping Seasons
The following table shows the rice-harvested areas in different producing zones.
|
Production zone |
Harvested area (% total harvested area) |
|
Maniema |
20.90 |
|
Kasaï Orien. |
20.32 |
|
Equateur |
17.91 |
|
Bandundu |
11.32 |
|
Sud-Kiwu |
10.13 |
|
Bas-Zaïre |
5.84 |
|
Haut-Zaïre |
3.98 |
|
Kasaï Occ. |
2.84 |
|
Kinshasa |
2.77 |
|
Nord-Kiwu |
2.18 |
|
Shaba |
1.80 |
The following table shows the rice cropping seasons.
|
Cropping Season |
Planting |
Harvesting |
|
Main season, North |
1-3 |
6-7 |
|
Main season, South |
9-10 |
2-3 |
Production Practices
The following figure shows the harvested areas from different ecologies during the last five years.
Upland rice is grown as a mono-crop or as in a mixture with other food crops following the slash-and-burn shifting cultivation almost without any application of chemical fertilizer and other ago-chemical. Women cultivate small (from few hundred to few thousand square meters) lowland rice fields following traditional systems with minimum tools and inputs. In lowland systems land preparation is done manually and transplanting is the main method of crop establishment. A number of improved rice varieties have been released for cultivation.
|
Variety Name |
Ecology |
Growth duration (days) |
|
KAO 17 |
Irrigated |
115-120 |
|
PEKING 7 25 |
Irrigated |
120-125 |
|
PSBRC 2 |
Irrigated |
|
|
ITA 222 |
Irrigated |
130-135 |
|
ITA 230 |
Irrigated |
120-125 |
|
SIPI 92023 |
Rainfed lowland |
NA |
|
BOUAKE 189 |
Rainfed lowland |
125-130 |
|
TOX 3389 |
Rainfed lowland |
NA |
|
R 66 |
Upland |
130-135 |
|
C-1-5 |
Upland |
NA |
|
IRAT 112 |
Upland |
95-105 |
|
IRAT 13 |
Upland |
120 |
|
IRAT 2 |
Upland |
130-135 |
|
IRAT 3 |
Upland |
130-135 |
|
ITA 301 |
Upland |
105-110 |
|
ITA 315 |
Upland |
105-110 |
|
ITA 333 |
Upland |
105-110 |
|
OS 6 |
Upland |
130-135 |
|
RY 1 |
Upland |
130-135 |
|
WABIS 56-50 |
Upland |
NA |
|
IRAT 13 |
Upland |
120 |
|
ITA 150 |
Upland |
100-105 |
|
ITA 305 |
Upland |
105-110 |
Constraints and Issues of Sustainable Production
There are several constraints to sustainable rice production in Congo DR. Following are the majors:
Dominant of upland shifting cultivation
Drought stresses, low soil fertility, erosion of soil and soil fertility in upland areas which is the dominant rice ecology
Blast and weed competition
Inadequate and Irregular input supplies: seeds, fertilizer and credit
Lack of small farm equipment especially for post harvest operations
Lack of effective farmer organization and co-operative
Poor maintenance of irrigation facilities
Lack of a well-defined rice policy
Poor road networks and marketing systems
Limited irrigation facilities and their poor maintenance
Weak research and extension support
Recently, the deterioration of security situation
The following table shows the rice production costs.
|
Other information |
Yield (T/ha) |
Cost ($/ha) |
Cost ($/T) |
|
87-89, Upland |
1 |
187 |
187 |
The country is recovering from war. Sustainable rice production depends greatly on appropriate policy to provide support for the improvement and development of lowland rice production systems with improved water supply and control. The country has rich water resources.
Research and Development Institutes
· Programme National du Riz, B.P. 7248 Kinshasa, Congo DR; Tel 4551.
· Centre de Recherche de Yangambi, INERA, B.P. 2015, Kisangani, Congo DR.
· BUNASEM B.P. 20337 Kinshasa I Gombe
· Ferme semenciere de Lombo B.P. 10 Kwilu-Ngo Bas-Zaire
· Ferme semenciere de Lusanga B.P. 26 c/o PLZ Kikwit Bandundu
· Institut nationale pour l'etude et la recherche agronomique, Ferme semenciere Dingila B.P. 1807 c/Codenord Kisangani Province Orientale
· Station INERA de Mukumari Mukumari Sud-Est
· Departement de l'agriculture Ministere de l'agriculture et du developpement rural B.P. 8722 Gombe, Kinshasa
