eBusiness Weekly
Business Reporter
Zimbabwean agro, real estate, and construction firms have been urged to pursue business opportunities in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) Haut-Lomami Province as it seeks to grow to a world-status province.
Haut-Lomami Province dignitary, Nday Mwepu Gervais made this call during a ZimTrade-organised meeting on opportunities for investment back in the DRC.
As for the Agro-pastoral and Aquacultural sector, Gervais said, “The province of Haut-Lomami is strongly agro-pastoral. It is covered with more than 80 percent of arable land and it has hundreds of thousands of hectares.”
The province is said to be suitable for all kinds of crops, and it receives rainfall 8 months out of the twelve that make up the year.
“Its vast fields full of agricultural products that make it the breadbasket that can feed the big cities of our country, without resorting to chemical fertilizers,” he added.
Haut-Lomami is among the first provinces of the DRC to have large cattle and count several hundreds of thousands of hectares of pasture, but it imports chickens, an area where Zimbabwean companies can explore.
“Regarding Aquaculture, the Province has more or less 80 Lakes, several streams and ponds full of fish,” Gervais added.
On the mining sector, Gervais said, “It should be noted that, like other provinces of the former dismembered Katanga, the province of Haut-Lomami abounds on its soil and in its scatter subsoil several mineral substances are scattered throughout its territory, and this in considerable quantity.
“Among these mineral substances, I can cite the ores of: lithium, copper, cobalt, coal, iron, silver, gold, limestone, saline and precious and semi-precious stones like a diamond among others.
The dignitary urged local companies to integrate the agricultural sector in Haut-Lomani for the industrial production of maize, cassava, groundnut, bean, pea, rice, sweet potato, cereals, soy and sugar cane.
“It’s time to build a bright future, that’s why we invite you, ladies and gentlemen, to come and settle and invest in Haut Lomami because alone we cannot do it, but with you, it’ll be a success,” he said.
According to Gervais, the province of Haut-Lomami is at the crossroads of several other provinces of the country, it includes five territories plus the city of Kamina and its geographical location makes it the hinge of the development of the DRC.
While ZimTrade’s objective is to create export opportunities across the globe, it views Africa as holding the greatest potential. In fact, currently, 60 percent of Zimbabwean export trade is done in Africa.
