Italian machinery and technicians for farming in the Congo Republic

An Agricultural Mechanization Technological Center staffed by Italian technicians and machinery and equipment was inaugurated last September 3rd in Otsende, in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Oyo-Ollombo in the Republic of the Congo specializing in cultivations of maize. The opening of the center coincided with the arrival of an Italian government mission, spending September 2nd and 3rd in the country, led by Deputy Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda. The initiative behind the center

– backed by the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, FederUnacoma – originated at the beginning of the year with an Italian agro-industrial mission in Brazzaville and a visit to Italy by Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguess. The manufacturers Argo Tractors and Maschio are the Italian companies given the contract to supply machinery and equipment for all crop operations, except harvesting, in these maize cultivations to be used and maintained by local workers attending training courses in the center supervised by the manufacturers.

On the matter of training, the overall project calls for courses set up for Congolese agronomists on the best way to raise maize to be held this autumn at Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy. The Italian Ministry of Economic Development has helped fund the overall project thanks to the special Made in Italy 2014 Promotion Program. Present for the inauguration of the center were Deputy Minister Calenda, the Congolese Minister for Agriculture Rigobert Maboundou and Riccardo Maria Monti, the president of the Italian Foreign Trade Agency (ICE).