Photo by RET

Article by RET in D.R. Congo

NYAMILIMA, D.R. CONGO – As part of our ongoing work in eastern D.R. Congo to promote sustainable improvement of both the nutritional situation and peaceful and inclusive coexistence of conflict-affected areas, RET’s country team – in collaboration with local partners FDAPID and ACPEJ – organized activities to exhibit agricultural products from members of agricultural cooperatives created and supported by the project.

The event took place in the territory of Rutshuru, in North Kivu, specifically in the village of Nyamilima. It brought together communities from seven villages: Nyabirehe, Burayi, Nkwenda, Kisharo, Buramba, Nyamilima Centre, and Nyamilima Paysannat—areas still under the full occupation of armed groups such as the M23 and local Mai-Mai militias.

Photos by RET

The event also served as an opportunity to present the project’s results to communities, local leaders, and authorities in a transparency and accountability exercise, while informing them of the project’s planned closure in August 2025.

Over the project’s lifespan, it has directed assisted 6,200 program participants and impacted approximately 40,000 lives by:

• Increasing food security for smallholder farmers in North Kivu and Ituri provinces while applying sustainable natural resource management
• Improving the balanced diet and nutritional practices for smallholder farmers and their families
• Reinforcing peaceful relations and inclusive coexistence between ethnic groups and integrating stigmatized, vulnerable, and traumatized groups, especially youth ex- combatants and indigenous Batwa, into the local community and economy.
• Providing psychosocial support for conflict-affected populations who have undergone traumas of wars/conflict

Photo by RET

During the July event, the agricultural products on display served as samples and concrete evidence of the resilience of local communities long affected by war, conflict, and poverty. Cultural activities, including theatrical performances and traditional dances, were also organized, conveying messages of social cohesion, peace, and local development initiative management.

And importantly, the community structures established by the project – such as village peace committees and agricultural cooperatives – as well as the resources allocated to them, were officially handed over to the communities.

While this project is ending, we remain committed to assisting vulnerable communities in D.R. Congo and around the world – promoting resilience, empowerment, and transformation to ensure long-last solutions.

This project, “Multisectoral support for sustainable quantitative and qualitative improvement of the food situation and the peaceful and inclusive coexistence of the conflict-affected population in eastern DRC (Ituri and North Kivu)”, is funded by BMZ, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, and operational in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

---