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Kinshasa, July 08 2009

We are a group of people who began learning the entrepreneurial industrial production of medicinal plants in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in November 2008. We are 26 Congolese men and women who each have a parcel of land intended for the cultivation of medicinal plants (with an average of 10 hectares per person). These parcels of land are scattered throughout the different provinces of the DRC.

After analyzing different studies and articles on the subject of developmental aid – including the book Dead Aid 1 – we have decided to take a stand on the question of what type of aid would most effectively develop Africa. It has been established that, and we have lived through it enough to know, foreign aid given to underdeveloped nations is ineffective in Africa and elsewhere.

We believe that:

a) Direct financial aid (aid from the public sectors of developed countries to the governments of underdeveloped countries) is only useful in cases of natural disaster and not in case of war. This is because the latter is often deliberately provoked and maintained by the same people who have sufficient means to make weapons and supply them to those who are killing each other. The same financial backers return wearing a different hat, that of ‘assisting’ the displaced victims of their skillfully-orchestrated wars. But they can never revive the many dead who are forever lost to the countries involved. It has these drawbacks: a tendency to drag on, a continuation of dependency, increased poverty, an unjust and shameless enrichment of the rulers of underdeveloped countries, etc. Such aid should be gradually reduced until it ends completely.

b) Technology transfer through training and the building of the capabilities of the citizens of underdeveloped countries seems more effective than the above. The advantage to this type of aid is that the people trained, if follow-up training is adequately ensured, will be able to participate themselves, and help their countries or institutions participate in the inevitable era of globalization and sustainable development through various international exchanges (commercial, scientific and cultural). States whose citizens are trained must undertake to ensure these people have the means they require to practice what they have learned. This commitment must be made before the training begins and monitoring its implementation must be part of the Memoranda of Understanding between the countries receiving the aid and the country supplying assistance.

c) Direct investment from the private sector, from the developing world and from developed countries, has the advantage of promoting commercial trade, creating jobs in the countries concerned, and especially fostering respect for personal freedom and respect for property rights (which tends to favor the strengthening of the underdeveloped countries’ institutions). We can take the example of many countries that have welcomed private companies from developed countries who are seeking cheap labor. This approach, combined with the opening of markets in developed countries to undeveloped countries has the advantage of – if they are allowed into primary markets in spite of some non-compliance or non-competitiveness issues – enabling different-level partners to meet on an equal footing, each providing benefits to the exchange. This encourages emulation and mutual consideration that favors development.

During the nine months we have studied training modules and learned our craft in the BDA Foundation program, our cohort has made much progress in many areas. For example: we now have mastered the concepts of international standards such as GACP, GLP, GMP, Quality Assurance, and Biological Certification. The cohort now understands the importance of African competitiveness in international markets to attracting revenue, and understands the distinctions between the stakes for Africa and the stakes for our competitors in the world-at-large.

The Biotechnology for Sustainable Development in Africa (BDA) Foundation is a Canadian association that has launched a project for the training of Africans with agricultural background/training in the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants. The goal is to allow us to enter world markets as suppliers of raw materials for the cosmetic, food, and pharmaceutical industries. It is a wide-ranging program in which the students –entrepreneurs in the production of medicinal and aromatic plants – receive excellent instruction in production techniques and the protection of medicinal plants and their biodiversity; in international and local contract negotiations; in small business management in the production of medicinal plants in accordance with WHO and international standards and in communications and the use of computers (Internet, accounting software, etc.).

We support free trade, that is to say the opening of markets to everyone, underdeveloped countries as well as developed countries. This fair and equitable opening of markets in developed countries to underdeveloped countries can truly be called ‘aid’ because, to be realistic, aid must be associated with the concept of work. It is when people undertake specific tasks that they can seek help to advance themselves more rapidly. Once Africans have learned proper production methods and have committed themselves to producing merchandise the world wants to buy, they will then be able to solicit their partners worldwide to help them sell their products without demeaning charity.

Written by the students from BDA
© 2009 Fondation BDA

(1) Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa, Allen Lane,2009, 208 p.