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Quality Protein Maize (QPM) is making a huge difference in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On a recent monitoring tour of several DONATA (Dissemination of New Agricultural Technologies in Africa) sites near Mbujimayi, in central DRC, FARA staff found that QPM has dramatically affected the lives and livelihoods of farmers and consumers throughout the region. Children suffering from – and dying from – malnutrition have obtained new leases on life. (see http://www.fara-africa.org)
Women whose breast milk had dried up have been able to nurse their babies after consuming QPM for only a single day. And significantly, farmers are making money by sowing this highly nutritious variety, which is loaded with protein and lysine – up to 10 times as much as the traditional varieties. QPM puts good food on the table and brings immediate financial returns. Take Samy Ntumba, a farmer in Nandajika. Samy, shown in his grain storage above, has made enough money cultivating QPM to send his eldest son Emmanuel to the University of Kinshasa, the first person in his village to attend university. Emmanuel’s chosen course of study? Agronomy. This son of the soil will not desert it!
published: 2011-09-01 (FARA News)
