Mennonite Central Committee Canada is supporting Ministry of the Churches for Refugees and Emergencies with an integrated food assistance and agriculture and livelihoods project in Shasha Village, Mubimbi and Poste Camps in DR Congo.
In these villages conflict, ongoing insecurity, irregular rainfall patterns, poor overall production, and the lingering effects of the Ebola crisis continue to perpetuate food insecurity and population displacement. COVID-19 is also compounding the situation by making markets unstable and making it difficult for internally displaced populations (IDPs) to return home due to travel restrictions.
As food stocks are currently low, this project will provide two unconditional in-kind food transfers in August and September to IDPs to meet immediate food needs. In addition, the project will provide agriculture support for the next three years. This includes providing agriculture trainings on conservation agriculture, kitchen gardening, and pest and insect management and distributing the necessary tools to help IDPs begin to restart their agriculture livelihoods. This includes providing access to land, seeds, and tools. Agriculture extension services will also be provided throughout the project.
This project aims to benefit 878 households (approximately 5,484 individuals).