DR Congo – Join For Water recently started its activities in Idiofa, a town in Kwilu province, 700 km from Kinshasa, in partnership with Faja Lobi, a Congolese NGO, using a three-tier approach to water resources management for horticulture.
Faja Lobi has regenerated 6,000 hectares of forest over the past decade with the cooperation of more than 1,000 inhabitants of the area, thereby increasing soil organic matter and improving soil water conservation. Furthermore, it has applied land management measures to reduce soil erosion and enhance rainwater infiltration.
Additionally, Join For Water has supported the construction of pump and irrigation infrastructure for horticulture, strengthening the region’s capacity for sustainable agricultural practices.
Forest regeneration and strengthening socio-ecological resilience
The slashing and burning of forests and vegetation to obtain new farmland is a well-known agricultural practice. Soil erosion and loss of original vegetation are the result. After a few years, the soils are exhausted and everything starts all over again, a bit further. In this way, 250,000 ha have already been deforested in the Idiofa region. The NGO Faja Lobi convinces local communities of the ecological and economic benefits of reforestation. Faja Lobi is also looking ahead and wants to contribute to building and restoring civil society through cultural, educational, economic and health programmes.
Water resources management, a three tier approach
A living soil is of utmost importance for providing healthy crop production. This can be achieved by increasing soil organic matter (compost, mulch, manure, …) that stimulates organisms to thrive, such as bacteria and invertebrates. They improve soil structure thus increasing soil water retention and make nutrients available to crops. Further, land management measures, such as ridges planted with grasses on the contour lines of steep slopes to decrease run off, elevated beds to prevent water logging and zaï (dug pits to catch water and concentrate compost) contribute to water infiltration and controlled drainage.
Third, water infrastructure for horticulture during the dry seasons is a vital link in Faja Lobi’s overall plan: Join For Water contributed to building water infrastructure in 2024. It included a water tower, solar panels and a pump .
From the river, pipes bring the water to a well. From there, the water leaves via an electric pump powered by solar panels to a water tower. The water tower feeds several taps where farmers tap water for their plots using a garden hose or large watering cans.
This efficient irrigation system allows horticulturists to better control water use, preventing excess water from simply washing away. That run-off impoverishes farmland and erodes the soil.
And there are additional benefits for families and the community: With a better harvest, food production becomes more sustainable and a source of income is added, when people can sell their vegetables at the market.
More than just irrigation
Thus, soil and water conservation, land management and proper irrigation increase the food security, health and economic opportunities of local people. It also makes them more resilient to the effects of climate change.
In this way, water infrastructure for horticulture is part of an integrated solution to the many environmental, climatic and social challenges facing the region.
Pictures below : (c) Faja Lobi, Zacky Madilo
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