Pharmakina and the Swiss Cooperation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have signed a partnership agreement under the SEEDS project — Sustainable Empowerment and Economic Development of Smallholder Farmers — turning a shared vision into a concrete investment in smallholder farmers, sustainable agriculture and rural development in North and South Kivu.
A few months ago, the partnership was still an idea on paper. Today, it is moving into implementation, with an ambition to improve the livelihoods of 2,000 smallholder cinchona farmers, at least half of them women.
For Pharmakina, which has operated from Bukavu since 1942, the project builds on more than eight decades of experience in the region and longstanding relationships with farming communities across the Kivus.
Over generations, Pharmakina has seen what the land of Kivu can produce when farmers have the knowledge, resources and access to markets needed to invest in their livelihoods. Its wider model connects cinchona cultivation with local economic opportunities, pharmaceutical production and long-term community development.
From partnership to practical action
Through SEEDS, Pharmakina and the Swiss Cooperation aim to strengthen both agricultural production and the economic resilience of farming communities.
The project will:
- Produce and distribute 9.3 million quality cinchona plants
- Distribute 337,500 kg of ginger seeds to help farmers diversify their sources of income
- Establish 20 collection centres, bringing producers closer to markets
- Open a Center of Excellence on Idjwi Island, providing training, technical support and access to basic health services
- Train 2,000 farmers in sustainable agricultural practices and financial management
- Support community initiatives in environmental protection, education and local development
The partnership goes beyond financial support. Teams from the Swiss Cooperation and Pharmakina have been working together in Bukavu for months to develop the project and translate its objectives into practical actions on the ground.
Pharmakina brings to the partnership something built over generations: relationships with farming communities across the Kivus and deep knowledge of the cinchona value chain – from cultivation to pharmaceutical production.
Building more resilient livelihoods
While the scale of the project can be expressed through numbers , millions of plants, thousands of farmers and new collection centres , its ultimate objective is reflected in what those investments can mean for farming families.
By strengthening agricultural practices, diversifying crops and incomes, improving financial knowledge and bringing farmers closer to markets, SEEDS aims to help smallholder farmers build more resilient and diversified livelihoods.
The emphasis on women is an important part of that ambition. At least 50% of the 2,000 farmers supported by the project will be women, strengthening their participation in the agricultural value chain and the economic opportunities created around it.
A value chain rooted in Kivu
The project is also part of a broader vision for a value chain that begins in the Kivus but reaches far beyond the region.
Cinchona is the natural source of quinine, connecting the work of farming communities in North and South Kivu with a pharmaceutical value chain that contributes to the fight against malaria.
For Pharmakina, strengthening that chain means creating value at several levels: supporting the farmers who cultivate cinchona, maintaining local agricultural and industrial expertise, strengthening pharmaceutical production in the DRC, and ensuring that more of the opportunities created by the value chain remain within local communities.
The SEEDS partnership represents an investment not only in what Kivu can produce today, but in the people, knowledge and local capacity that can sustain its development for generations to come.
