A Regional Workshop to Rethink Agriculture
Under the title “Nature-Based Solutions,” the Ministry of Green Economy hosted a workshop from 19th to 22nd May, bringing together representatives from sister ministries of 15 African countries. On the final day, after in-depth theoretical deliberations, the group visited Kasisi to see how these solutions could look in practice.
“Why are we working against nature and not with it?” asked KATC Director Fr. Claus Recktenwald in his welcome remarks.
“The art of agroecology consists in observing nature and mimicking its processes in agricultural production. With chemicals, we are only treating the symptoms of a system that has lost its equilibrium. We have to allow nature to re-establish this balance, which expresses itself in biodiversity that will give us healthy plants and ultimately support our agricultural production.”
Kasisi’s Practical Approach to Agroecology
The visitors saw how KATC teaches small-scale farmers practices that are not harmful to nature and are based on low-cost, locally available inputs. In this way, agricultural systems become resilient and productive, even in the face of a changing climate.
These practices include the production of on-farm biofertilizers to build soil life, the use of botanicals to protect and strengthen crops, and diverse cropping systems that mimic natural biodiversity. In Natural Farming, such diversity can exceed 20 crops in a single field. A tree nursery helps produce seedlings of both cultivated and indigenous trees, contributing to structured cultivation systems with favorable microclimates.
The delegation also observed KATC’s work at a commercial scale—demonstrating how to raise livestock, grow crops organically, and process dairy and grain products without chemical additives or preservatives.
From Demonstration to Policy Action
A participant from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Democratic Republic of Congo remarked:
“These are exactly the practical examples we need to show to our extension officers so that the theoretical discourse can reach the practical level—and ultimately, the farmers across the country.”
Fr. Dondo Bena Benoit, who guided the group through KATC, emphasized the importance of valuing nature-based solutions and mainstreaming them into political discourse and decision-making.
“They will lead to a win-win situation for both farmers and nature,” he said.
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