Plantation economics and local development

This paper presents the plantation economy and local development in the Buzi group in the Kalehe territory of eastern DR Congo. In this region, land tenure as a factor of economic production is the subject of confrontation between natives and non-natives over land on the bangs of concessions/plantations. As the land in this region is fertile and the specific geographical conditions make it highly suitable for cultivation, most contemporary plantations are made up of former coffee plantations and cattle farms established in colonial times.We have set ourselves the following objectives: to take stock of concessions and development in Buzi; to determine how the plantation economy influences local development in Buzi; and to propose ways and means of improving the contribution of farming on concessions to local development in the Buzi group.