Agritech, who are we?

Agritech, who are we?

AGRITECH is a company created in August 2019. It is duly registered since 2021 with the Commission des Affaires du Guichet Unique de Création d'Entreprise (GUCE) of the city of Bukavu with company number CD/BKV/21-A-00219. We are strategically located at Av. Mbaki N°045/ Bukavu in DR Congo.

Where it all began...

The idea for its creation stemmed from an observation made during an academic internship in the Kabare territory. This observation was the low involvement of young people in agriculture, even though agriculture represents 43% of the DRC's GDP and 80% of the rural population works in the agricultural sector (USAID, 2018).

Following a survey in the same area, it was also found that the rural community faces unprecedented constraints, namely: a minimum of financial and technical education, field work left to women, and prices defying all competition on the market.

What's more, 13% of total production (12,750 tonnes in 2014) perishes before being exposed to the market, due to a lack of processing and preservation facilities. This only exacerbates the precarious situation in which rural producers, particularly rural women, find themselves. This handicaps agriculture in the Kabare territory, which has the potential to feed a large part of the city of Bukavu and the surrounding area.

As a result, the population is heavily dependent on imports to compensate for the province's food shortage for many staple foods such as maize flour, cassava, beans, vegetables and market garden produce, resulting in a trade deficit.

Rukole Kuguma, first women's agricultural cooperative in Mudaka

In response to this type of problem in other regions, the creation of agricultural cooperatives seems to be a solution that enables farmers to form oligopolies. This gives them greater bargaining power in the market and makes it easier for them to acquire a regular customer base. To remedy this situation in our region too, we created AGRITECH.

In 2020, AGRITECH set up a women's agricultural cooperative in MUDAKA, in the Kabare territory, called "RUKOLE KUGUMA", which has 50 members to date. Since the cooperative's creation, we have been collecting, packaging and marketing members' beans.

We've been doing it for three seasons now. The average collection per season is 1,250 kg. For each kilogram sold, the growers have a net gain (in relation to the market price) of $0.15/Kg, and the company has a net gain of $0.2/Kg. This activity is therefore profitable for both the growers and the company. Members of the cooperative have received training in good agricultural practices from AGRITECH.
In addition to selling member beans, AGRITECH currently sells corn grains and vegetables (bean and cassava leaves, and onions) harvested from the nearly one hectare of farmland it owns.

Feeding the population of South Kivu and surrounding areas

To meet the nutritional and food security needs of South Kivu province and the DRC as a whole, AGRITECH is expanding its operations from the sale of raw materials to the processing of corn, soy and cassava into nutritious porridge flour under the "Nutriblend cereals" brand.

This initiative aims to reduce malnutrition, particularly among children aged 30 to 79 months, cut the prevalence of anemia among women of childbearing age by a third, and reduce post-harvest losses, thereby improving the market value and shelf life of agricultural produce in MUDAKA, in the Kabare territory.

In addition, AGRITECH plans to recycle food processing waste into animal feed, thereby supporting local livestock farming and creating additional sources of income.
We plan to start with a production capacity of 1 tonne per day, with the intention of increasing in line with sales. Porridge flour will be sold in 1 kg and 2 kg packs, with plans to expand production to 5 kg if necessary.

Parents, guardians, schools... they are all our customers.

Our target customers are parents, guardians, schools, health institutions and NGOs working in the field of nutrition and development, as well as local farmers for animal feed. As the market develops, we plan to diversify our product offering and expand our presence to neighboring regions.
We intend to achieve our vision by continuing to be creative, applying affordable pricing methods and managing customer relationships in a friendly manner. We will continue to update ourselves on the latest technology for producing healthy, sustainable cereal nutrients at a lower cost. All this with the aim of delivering the best of our products to our most valued customers.