Potatoes regain importance in North Kivu, DRC ^{CEFR B2}

Potato cultivation is re-emerging as an important crop in the DRC, driven by coordinated efforts of government, NGOs, researchers and farmers. In parts of North Kivu, varieties such as Lubero and Rutshuru have moved from festive use to everyday agriculture. The country produced 101,000 tons in 2018, and the starch-rich tubers can help meet energy needs for a population of 109 million people.

Several constraints limit production. Road degradation and very long journeys harm trade: tubers travel to Kisangani (800 km) and Kinshasa (2,000 km), and in rainy seasons a truck can take a month to reach Kisangani, allowing crops to perish en route. Biological threats include mildew, bacterial wilt and viral diseases.

• Main biological threats: mildew, bacterial wilt and viral diseases.

CERAVEG, the Agricultural and Veterinary Research Center of Graben, is replacing old, degenerated colonial varieties. Professor Charles Valimunzigha of Université Catholique du Graben explains that older varieties have lost productivity and carry infections; while older types rarely reach 10 t/ha, some CERAVEG variants exceed 20 t/ha. Selection is lengthy: researchers start with over 10,000 hybrid seedlings and monitor each line until harvest, keeping only those that combine resistance and high yield.

Soil degradation from decades of cropping is a major obstacle. Valimunzigha recommends planting legumes between seasons to restore fertility, but he warns that nitrate leaching can reach groundwater and be carcinogenic at high concentration. No organic fertilizer yet fully matches chemical fertilizers in performance. An INERA report finds local clones yield 20–35 t/ha and imported seeds 25–40 t/ha; imported varieties can have better mildew resistance but require more training and higher costs. Improved seeds, technical support and coherent agricultural policies could help potatoes become a strategic crop for greater food sovereignty across the DRC.