John Ndinga-Ngoma | July 10, 2023
News Brief
It’s mid-day in the Loussala neighbourhood in eastern Pointe-Noire, Congo-Brazzaville. Jean Jacques Mouanga and his family have finished their lunch of rice and saka-saka sauce, made from crushed cassava leaves. Mr. Mouanga grows rice for home consumption because the price of imported rice has risen. He says, “I am retired and I do not have the means to face the soaring price of rice. So I decided to produce for my own consumption.”
It’s mid-day in the Loussala neighbourhood in eastern Pointe-Noire, Congo-Brazzaville, and Jean Jacques Mouanga’s family has finished eating lunch. Ismaël Mouanga is the youngest of the family. He says, “I ate good rice.” Today, Mr. Mouanga’s wife, Odile Mouanga, prepared local rice with saka-saka sauce, made from crushed cassava leaves. Her husband grew the local rice.
Mr. Mouanga grows rice for his family because imported rice has become expensive. He says, “I am retired and I do not have the means to face the soaring price of rice. So I decided to produce for my own consumption.” In the local market, the price of a 25-kilogram bag of imported rice has risen from 10,000 FCFA ($16.60 US) to 13,000 FCFA ($21.60) since the Ukraine crisis.
Mr. Mouanga has been producing rice for a year in his 500-square-metre field on the edge of a marsh in the village of Nkomi, about 30 kilometres east of Pointe-Noire. In his first season, he harvested 400 kg of paddy rice.
He says he inherited best practices for growing rice from his parents. He explains, “I was born in Kindamba, about 200 km west of Brazzaville. It was a rice-producing area in Congo. My parents were rice farmers. I know all the production techniques.”
Mr. Mouanga doesn’t use any hired labour or chemical fertilizers. He explains: “I do everything myself. I don’t buy fertilizer. I only use green manures like compost for my field. I don’t spend money on my rice production.” He says that the seed variety he uses matures in just four months. His last harvest was in February.
Boris Mouléné is a nutritionist in the pediatric department of the Adolphe Sicé public general hospital in Pointe-Noire. He says that rice is rich in fibre, a source of B vitamins and rich in antioxidants.
Mr. Mouanga says that the rice he grows is organic and cheaper than imported rice.
According to official statistics, Congo spends more than 10 billion francs (nearly $16.8 million US) a year on importing rice. Yet the country has land that is suitable for rice production. In Pointe-Noire and its surroundings, Mr. Mouanga is one of the few rice growers. He is therefore seeking support from the government to modernize his production. While waiting for this support. Mr. Mouanga is happy that he has found the beginning of a solution to the cost of imported rice by producing for his own consumption.
He says, “I can only be happy that I am eating a product that is the result of my personal efforts. I have also reduced my expenses and this money will now allow me to meet other needs.”