Farmers to Lead Participatory Review of Food Security Programs in Eastern DRC

Smallholder farmers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are set to play a central role in assessing agricultural and nutrition programs affecting their livelihoods, as ActionAid launches a participatory review of food security interventions in South Kivu and Tanganyika provinces.

The exercise forms part of a broader civil society initiative under the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), a global partnership supporting agriculture and food security in low-income countries.

The review is being conducted under a global civil society consortium composed of Eastern and Southern Africa Small-Scale Farmers Forum, Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia, Coalition des Organisations de la Société Civile pour la Sécurité Alimentaire et le Développement Humain, and ActionAid.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the review process is being led by ActionAid DRC, which will work with local civil society partners and community groups to gather insights directly from farmers and rural households.

Putting Farmers’ Voices at the Centre

The participatory review aims to capture the experiences of communities involved in the Resilience and Nutrition in the Great Lakes (RENUGL) technical assistance under the country’s Multisectoral Nutrition and Health Project (MNHP).

While many agricultural programs rely heavily on quantitative monitoring indicators, the civil society review seeks to complement these metrics with qualitative insights from the people most affected by the interventions.

Over the coming weeks, ActionAid DRC, working with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), MNHP project team and CSO partners, will facilitate community consultations, focus group discussions, and participatory scorecard exercises with farmers, women’s groups, youth, and other stakeholders.

These discussions will help document:

• How agricultural training and Farmer Field Schools are influencing farming practices
• The role of Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) in strengthening household resilience
• The impact of community dialogue platforms such as Dimitra Clubs
• Key challenges affecting smallholder farmers, including land access, markets, and security

The process will also ensure that marginalized groups, including women, internally displaced persons, and indigenous communities, are able to share their perspectives.

Strengthening Civil Society Engagement in Food Systems

The participatory review reflects a growing recognition that civil society organizations and farmer networks play a critical role in shaping sustainable agricultural systems.

Through this initiative, the CSO consortium aims to strengthen the role of local organizations in monitoring development programs and ensuring that investments in agriculture respond to community realities.

By engaging farmers directly in the evaluation process, the review will also generate evidence that can inform future agricultural and nutrition programming supported through the GAFSP partnership.

Addressing Food Security in Fragile Contexts

Agriculture remains the main source of livelihood for millions of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, farmers in many parts of the country continue to face significant challenges, including limited access to markets, climate shocks, and insecurity.

These challenges are particularly pronounced in eastern provinces such as South Kivu and Tanganyika, where years of instability have disrupted agricultural production and rural livelihoods.

For ActionAid DRC, capturing the perspectives of farmers living in these conditions is essential to ensuring that agricultural investments translate into meaningful improvements in food security and nutrition.

Informing Future Investments in Agriculture

The findings from the participatory review will contribute to broader learning within the GAFSP and help inform discussions on how agricultural programs can better support smallholder farmers in fragile contexts.

The exercise will also provide an opportunity for communities themselves to reflect on what has worked, what challenges remain, and how future interventions can better respond to their needs.

For the civil society consortium and its partners, the process represents an important step toward ensuring that farmers’ voices shape the policies and programs designed to support them.

As consultations begin across villages in South Kivu and Tanganyika, one message is clear: sustainable food systems must be built not only through investments in agriculture, but through genuine partnerships with the communities at the heart of rural economies.