Congo – Agro-industries
Agro-industry, one of the pillars of the 2022-2026 National Development Plan

The new agricultural dynamic is facilitated by agro-industrial investments. The Niari department is one of the main beneficiaries of these reforms undertaken by the Congolese authorities with the support of donors such as the World Bank and UNCTAD. Located 160 km from Pointe-Noire, it has seen the establishment of international players in recent years, such as Agri Resources Group and Tolona, a Spanish company.

Based in Dolisie since 2016, where it manages over 69,000 hectares of land, Agri Resources Congo, a subsidiary of Agri Resources Group (the agricultural arm of Monaco Resources Group), has invested in local cereal (rice and corn) and vegetable (cabbage, peppers, green onions, chili peppers, and onions) production. They produce over 20 tons of vegetables annually, thanks to local labor and sustainable farming practices. The next step focuses on processing these raw materials. 

The Tolona Group, also present on the banks of the Niari River, produces corn and other high-value crops. The company has also ventured into poultry farming for egg production, in order to supply the local market at reduced prices. 

These two examples illustrate the new dynamic, resulting from government reforms that aim to support smaller farmers, as evidenced by the validation in early 2022 of the project to support the development of commercial agriculture (PDAC).

In his New Year's address to the nation for 2023, President Denis Sassou Nguesso reiterated the "firm commitment" to building the country's first fertilizer manufacturing plant in the Pointe-Noire Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Its cost is estimated at $2.5 billion.

The National Development Plan 2022-2026 therefore places agriculture in the broadest sense, as well as industry in the component related to the processing of basic products, at the heart of the diversification process.