Determinants de la performance des exploitations agricoles a Kabare, Sud-Kivu, est de la Republique Democratique du Congo

La situation alimentaire du Sud-Kivu est d’autant plus préoccupante que les statistiques la classe parmi les Provinces les plus affectées par la famine en RD. Congo. Cette situation serait due à la faiblesse des exploitations agricoles de subvenir aux besoins alimentaires de la population. Pour cela, une enquête a été effectuée auprès de producteurs dans le but de déterminer les facteurs qui limitent la performance des exploitations agricoles. Les résultats obtenus de typologie des exploitations agricoles de Kabare montrent qu’elles peuvent être regroupées en quatre grandes classes selon les critères de classification considérés, (65.60 %) des exploitants sont des femmes et leur niveau d’instruction est l’école primaire (45,00 %). La principale source de revenu reste la vente de produits agricoles (78,80 %). De plus, nos resultats ont montré que les facteurs qui déterminent la viabilité des exploitations paysannes sont, la quantité et le prix de la main-d’œuvre utilisée, la la taille de l’exploitation (superficie) ; le nombre de bétails élevés, l’âge des exploitants, l’ancienneté en agriculture, la taille du ménage, l’appartenance à une association paysanne de développement ainsi que le niveau d’étude. Ces résultats supposent avec grand intérêt la prise en compte de ces déterminants comme facteurs clés dans toutes les actions de viabilisation des exploitations, gage d’une normalisation de la sécurité alimentaire des ménages tant ruraux qu’urbains.Mots-clés : agriculture, pauvreté, sécurité alimentaire, croissance démographiqueDeterminants of farm performance in Kabare, South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of CongoThe Food situation in South Kivu is more worrying because statistics rank it among the provinces where the most affected by famine. This situation is due to the weakness of farms to meet population’s food needs. For this, a survey was conducted among small producers to determine the factors that determine the performance of their farms. The results obtained show that these farms are classified in four major classes according to the classification criteria considered, (65.60%) of the farmers are women and their education status is primary school (45.00%). The main source of income remains the sale of agricultural products (78.80%). The factors determining the viability of the agricultural exploitations are, the quantity of the labor used, the daily price of it, the area exploited; the number of animals in livestock, the age of farmers, the length of service in agriculture, the size of the household, membership of a farmers association of development as well as the level of study. These results assume with great interest the consideration of these determinants as key factors in all farm-servicing actions, a guarantee of a normalization of the food security of both rural and urban households.Keywords : agriculture, poverty, food security, population growt

Utilizing scientometric analysis to evaluate indicators of quality research at the institutional level: A case study of UEA, a young Central African university

The recognition and reputation of scientists and academic institutions are well-established in the field of scientometrics. However, these aspects face criticism in regions with limited information access and considered underdeveloped. In this study, we aimed to discuss the research performance of young universities (YU) in these challenging contexts. Despite financial, socio-economic, and political struggle, research in these YU has not stagnated and has even produced renowned scientists with global reputation. Our focus is on a case study of a Congolese YU, the Université Evangélique en Afrique (UEA), operating in a conflict-affected zone. The results showed that factors such as capacity building, infrastructure development, funding opportunities, collaborative partnerships, monitoring and evaluation are the main factors boosting the institution viability. Other important factors included scientific publication dynamics, community engagement, and policies for long-term sustainability, and should be reinforced in young central Africa universities to secure prominent positions in the global arena. The case study of UEA demonstrated that there is still room for revitalizing education and research in YU in the Global South. By accumulating citations and calculating the H-index using tools such as “Publish or Perish” and Scopus, this study suggests that platforms such as Google Scholar or ResearchGate alone are inadequate for evaluating research in academic institutions and researchers. Efforts are needed in these YU to promote quality research and minimize waste of data by publishing in predatory journals. This study also suggests that though scientometric indicators are effective in securing a prominent position in the global arena for YU, they are not solely adequate. Grey reports should also be integrated to assess YU's community engagement and real impact of conducted research at the local and national levels. Despite challenges, these academic institutions provide valuable services to the community, and its researchers actively collaborate on research projects at regional, continental, and global scales. This study contribute to the limited existing literature on quality of education and research in developing central Africa regions by providing a comprehensive understanding through a detailed case study