From green copper (corn) to rice cultivation, Moïse Katumbi is expanding his agricultural activity. Land is indeed the resource without which there can be no crops, livestock or forestry. Thus, the potential for expanding cultivated areas is one of the main aspects to be considered in planning the development of agriculture in a country. This is what explains the return to the land of Moses Katumbi.
Two years after his return from exile, favored by the coming to power of President Felix Tshisekedi, Moïse Katumbi, who has returned to his business in the country, particularly in his stronghold of Lubumbashi, has revived the cultivation of rice production in Kashobwe. For this 2021 campaign, production exceeds 1,300 tonnes of rice according to the information in our possession.
A successful businessman in mining, trading, fishing …, Moise Katumbi Chapwe saw fit to diversify his investments by giving priority to the soil more than the basement, suggests one of his close associates. Farmer Katumbi is adamant that it is possible to make the Democratic Republic of the Congo the breadbasket of Africa. But this requires awareness, determination, and also an investment in human capital. It is with this in mind that he made an investment of 20 million USD in an area of 15,000 hectares, the Mas hamba, located in the Futuka village 30 km from Lubumbashi, the capital of Haut-Katanga. Mashamba is a vast agrarian estate spanning thousands of hectares, larger than the city of Paris, owned by the businessman. Corn, as far as the eye can see, is the main crop, occupying more or less 11,000 hectares. The other 4,000 hectares are shared between the cultivation of soybeans and the animal park.
Like Aliko Dangote, who has for a while been making major investments in the agricultural sector, Moïse Katumbi has also stepped up his investments in the culture of land development, the only means by which Africa will become self-sufficient. Because the development of agriculture will ultimately enable the continent to address the issue of the food deficit and address food security to meet the millennium goals. Africa spends more than seven (7) billion dollars per year on its rice imports, essential for its food security, while the continent is endowed with a great production potential. It is to fill the deficit of this cereal, a staple food in many African countries, like the DRC, that the former governor of Katanga embarked on the agricultural production of rice through a value chain. .
Lover of the land, the former governor of Katanga is convinced that the structural transformation of agriculture is a prerequisite for increasing labor productivity and income levels, but above all for creating decent jobs. This presupposes finding financial, human and material resources for the successful implementation of value-added agricultural projects on a large scale in the country.
