Democratic Republic of Congo: Water and Food Supply Issues and Solutions

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country of many resources. There are many options that can be pursued to increase the food and water supply in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There are many methods of maximizing the food supply in this country. Traditional Crossbreeding, the Green Revolution, and Interplanting are all options that can help increase the food supply in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Traditional crossbreeding is a method of increasing crop supplies, but it is not the most efficient. This method improves crops for a period of time, but it can take as long as 15 years. Crossbreeding can create plants that some may enjoy, but the surrounding environment can adapt to these improved crops. When the environment adapts the pests that these plants were immune to will also adapt leaving the crops susceptible to these pests. Traditional crossbreeding only works on species that are similar in genetics as well.

The green revolution is another method of increasing the food supply. This method uses the same amount of land to produce more crops, but it also needs more fertilizer, pesticides, and water. Worst of all the green revolution uses a lot of fossil fuels which is not beneficial in the long run. The green revolution is a method that has some pros, but I feel the pros are out weighed by the cons.

The use of interplanting, especially low input polyculture, seems to be the best methods of maximizing the food supply in The Democratic Republic of Congo. Through the use if interplanting many different crops will be produced. The loss of crops will be reduced because the many varieties of plants will increase weather resistance. The use of insecticides will decrease due to the creating of an environment that supports the natural predators of these pests. The varying crops will also help provide different nutrients to the soil so there is less of a need for fertilizer. Interplanting is the best method for crop production.