Dr. Tubene engaged Congolese youth at a private farm in the suburban Maluku outside the capital city of DRC in November 2022. The farm visit was recommended by one of the CEGFSD’s partners in DRC. This farm receives technical assistance from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The new graduates are a mix of students from the Kinshasa’ National Pedagogic University (UPN) and a local community college who landed an employment at the farm. UPN graduates, working on the In Vitro Culture for Large-Scale Propagation of Clean, Disease-Free Cassava technology, were encouraged by Dr. Tubene to pursue this noble career of agriculture production. In addition, young agronomists, being tested on craft skills acquired at the same farm, received an endorsement from Dr. Tubene for choosing agriculture as a career.
“For us, seeing an eminent professor from the U.S. taking time to visit and teach us gives us courage and motivation to pursue our dream,” said the young agricultural professionals. Tubene told the youth: “if the majority of the young Congolese who are currently unemployed were practicing agriculture and producing food supply (i.e., vegetables, maize or cassava), DRC would not be food insecure.”
