 THE JULES VAN LANCKER COMPANY, A CONSULTING & MANAGEMENT OFFICE WITH A SOUND AGRO-INDUSTRIAL EXPERIENCE
 Its agro-industrial activities
Established in 1927, the Company Jules VAN LANCKER s.a, usually known as J.V.L in the Republic Democratic of Congo and in the neighbouring contries, is an agro-industrial company working in livestock and agicultural productions, processing and marketing. The success of its own african large scale farming operations, integrating livestock & agricultural activities, such as its Kolo & Mushie ranches in the Republic Democratic of Congo has contributed to its international fame. Developing these activities in remote areas has brought the company to develop a strong experience in rural socio-economic development, for the benefit of its employees & their families as well as for the surrounding populations.
Its professional skills cover livestock productions and related activities, tropical agricultural, practices, rangeland management and natural resources preservation, rural development.
In this contry the commercial operations are:
• Two ranches with 45 000 head of selected N'Dama cattle: these animals are raised mainly on natural savannas. Balances between grazing loads and fodder production are carefully maintained with pastures rotations and early fire schemes. These natural savannas, exploited up to their maximum potential for the last 30 to 50 years, are preserved. Grazing schemes were studied and adapted to the very different soils, plants and rain patterns. Long trials on improved pastures and fodder productions were carried out, screening most of the tropical fodder plants. Improved pastures are established and exploited over 1 000 ha, allowing increased production and offtake rates. These animals are subject to continuous selection and represent the only large reservoir of pure improved N'Dama breed.
• Large scale pig & poultry production units.
• Animal feeds formulation & production.
• Recycling of manure through biofermentation processes for production of
animal feeds & fertilizers.
• Slaughtering & processing facilities for the total animal production including delicatessen production, marketing facilities up to retail sales.
• Design for and equipment for transport of animals and fresh meat by rail, road & river.
• Production & processing of maize, beans, groundnuts, cassava, soya.
• Large scale trials & screening in fruit (mainly bananas & pineapples) & vegetable production, and on aromatic & medicinal plants.
• Long experience of palm trees plantations and full processing (refined palm oil, soaps palm kernel oil & cake).
Accompanying these operations, inputs into rural development were necessary to allow a normal socio-economic life in these remote areas:
• Extension work for cattle smallholders: around our ranches, villagers started cattle breeding and over the years hundreds of herds developed, totalling more than 30 000 head.
• The company, needing animal health protection, followed up these developments by providing veterinary services & surveys, husbandry advices and basic equipment. In the same idea, the Company developed the concept called "Mutual guarantee herds" allowing to farmers, cooperative member, to give a serious financial guarantee for the loans contracted when they bought veterinary products and breeding stock. These services developed into two cattle development projects funded by the Belgian Cooperation (Technical assistance for livestock smallholders in the Mbanza-Ngungu area (1988-1989) and by the European Union (APEK Programme (Programme for the Economic Hinterland of Kinshasa Cattle Farming (1990-1999))
• Organization of rural markets & exchange shops of agricultural products, transport & marketing circuits both through the company itself or through traders organizations.
• Organization (and building) of schools which provide presently education to more than 15 000 children, parent to employees and surrounding villagers.
• Organization of workshops (sewing, cooking,....) and help to the development of small livestock activities (rabbits, guinea pigs, eggs production,...) for women organizations.
• Building of and equipment for the company's medical centres, providing care to more than 100 000 people, through its own medical staff and in collaboration with specialized agencies.
• Building of facilities to provide drinkable water, wells constructions, natural springs developments,...
• Contruction and maintenance of 1 600 km rural roads & tracks, with means & methods adapted to the local resources.
A consultancy firm
In 1974 a consultancy firm was set up in Brussels for the purpose of examining agropastoral projects geared to the provision or transfer of technology in the areas corresponding to its specific skills.
This consultancy firm offers its services to international and government organisations and to the private sector.
Activities now cover the whole of the African continent and extend to South East Asia.
J.V.L. is involved in all the various project stages, from initial preparation to final implementation, either on a short term basis in connection with surveys or expert missions, or on a more long-term basis, prividing technical assistance or, preferably, responsible management.
In addition to our permanent staff, who are also involved in the management of the company's private activities, we work with a large number of experts and specialist consultants in the field of agriculture, civil engineering, economics, socilogy, law. The integration of national experts is a matter of priority in our teams responsible for studies, and project implementation and supervision.
Our company seeks to provide a high level of expertise, and thus works closely with universities and he main international research organisation ; it has participated in several international research programmes together with ILRI (ILRI/ILCA) IEMVT, the Research Centre and Faculty of Agruculture of Gembloux, the Universities of Louvain, Liège and Gand, and the faculties Notre Dame de la Paix in Namur (Belgium), the CIRAD (France) and the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp.
The network of scientific and technical relations that has been built up is available to respond to any practical problems that might arise during the implementation of a project.
SPECIFIC AREAS OF ACTIVITY
Over the last 20 years the Company Jules VAN LANCKER s.a has continued to strengthen its multidisciplinary experience in the following fields:
• Animal production and agro-pastoral production
• Animal health
• Agri-food sector
• Rural development | • Environmental and natural resource conservation
• Agro-forestry
• Agricultural economics and rural sociology
• Training/extension work
1. ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND AGRO-PASTORAL PRODUCTION
• Development and technical audit of cattle, pig, goat, sheep, poultry rearing operations at village level or on an industrial scale.
• Management and conservation of range/cropland and pasture improvement
• Animal feeding, development of forage resources and grassland studies
• Selection and dissemination of local breeds
• Extension of animal traction
• Institutional strengthening of livestock production and veterinary services.
• Animal health
• Integrated fish farming/aquaculture
• Development of food crops for integrated production
• Farm machinery.
2. ANIMAL HEALTH
• Strengthening of veterinary services
• Veterinary services privatisation
• Upgrading of national veterinary legislation
• Emergency Prevention System for transboundary animal diseases
• Policy and action plan for supplying veterinary products and equipment
• Vaccinations campaigns
• Set up of epizootics control system and epidemiological survey
• Animal health extension activities and health centres contruction
• Farmers associations organisation and
§ Improvement of their participation in the setting up of epizootic diseases
surveillance networks
§ Livestock prophylactic practices awareness
§ Collective purchases of veterinary products and equipments
§ Solidarity schemes for culling of herds presenting health hazards
• Active participation in the ILRI research programme on livestock trypanosomiasis and other diseases (tickborn and skin diseases mainly)
§ Statistical and epidemiological incidence related to production
§ Genetic basis of trypanosomiasis resistance
3. AGRI-FOOD SECTOR
• Design and establishment of facilities for the processing of livestock and agricultural products at an industrial or village level (micro-units).
• Design and setting up of abattoirs and facilities to stock meat and agricultural products.
• Organisation and setting up of marketing networks.
• Packaging and quality control.
• Technical audit of agro-industrial/agri-food enterprises.
4. RURAL DEVELOPMENT
• Design and implementation of facilities for agro-pastoral operations.
• Development of village lands.
• Village water development and rural rehabilitation.
• Water points in pastoral areas.
• Building of housing in rural areas and improvements to the home.
• Development of small artisanal enterprises (blacksmiths, carpenters, builders, mechanics, ect.)
• Setting up of medical and educational facilities.
• Development of communication networks (roads, tracks).
5. ENVIRONMENT
• Setting up and rehabilitation of national parks.
• Conservation of natural resources
• Soil conservation and erosion control
6. AGRO-FORESTRY
• Development of agro-sylvo-pastoral projects.
• Reforestation, protection of forest resources.
• Forest planning/improvement.
• Community forestry
7. AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND RURAL SOCIOLOGY
• Setting up credit systems for farmers and provision of support to farmers' associations.
• Provision of support to women's work.
• Agricultural market surveys
• Study of meat, milk, skins and leather sectors.
• Study of the management and restructuring of farms, agro-industrial/agri-food entrerprises, abattoirs, ect.
• Privatisation of the agricultural and stock farming sector, agro-processing industry/agri-food sector.
• Socio-economic studies.
8. TRAINING AND EXTENSION WORK
The fact that these activities have been carried out in a variety of contexts and the firm's own private operations have enabled J.V.L. to measure the importance of human resource management. To this end the company designs and carries out training programmes and extension work for the benefit of local staff and project participants, and takes care to maintain a permanent dialogue in order to respond to the needs of the local population in the most effective way. The company firmly believes that further education and the provision of technical backstopping to its staff are the best guarantee of lasting results. |
