Libreville, Monday 8 June 2026 – The bet may seem bold. Yet it now lies at the heart of Gabon’s economic strategy.
As the country aims to sharply cut its reliance on imported food and halt the influx of foreign broiler chickens by 2027, the battle is now being waged far from markets and ports. It is taking place in the experimental fields of the National Centre for Scientific and Technological Research (CENAREST) in Kougouleu.
The visit by the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and government spokesperson, Charles Edgar Mombo, to this strategic site marks much more than a routine administrative inspection. It reveals a new direction where scientific research becomes a direct tool for economic transformation and a lever of national sovereignty.
In a country where food imports still absorb a significant portion of external spending, the ability to locally produce the raw materials needed for livestock farming now appears as strategically important as mining or energy exploitation.
Research at the core of the national project
The goal set by the authorities is clear: build a poultry sector that can meet domestic demand while gradually reducing imports. Achieving this ambition hinges on animal feed. Maize and soya are the main components of feed used in industrial poultry farming. As long as these raw materials remain largely imported, the sector’s autonomy remains fragile.
In Kougouleu, CENAREST researchers are precisely focusing on this equation. Eleven maize varieties are currently being tested to identify the seeds best suited to Gabon’s soil and climate conditions. The challenge goes well beyond agricultural performance. It is about selecting varieties capable of delivering sufficient yields to sustainably fuel a rapidly expanding national poultry industry.
The scientific teams have also launched trials on eleven soya varieties introduced through international cooperation with research centres in Malawi. Additional experiments are being conducted in the Nyanga province, particularly in Tchibanga, to assess performance across the country’s different ecosystems.
This approach reflects a significant shift. Long seen as a field removed from immediate economic concerns, research is now becoming an operational player in development.
Ambition for an integrated sector
The government’s strategy is based on a simple logic: produce locally the inputs essential for livestock farming in order to reduce production costs and strengthen the competitiveness of Gabonese farmers. This vision aligns with a trend observed in several African countries facing soaring food bills. According to international institutions, import dependency remains one of the main factors of economic vulnerability on the continent.
Gabon, however, has considerable assets: fertile land, abundant water resources, and climatic conditions favourable to many crops. For Charles Edgar Mombo, the results seen in the field already demonstrate the country’s potential. The minister praised the researchers’ commitment and highlighted the capacity of the national higher education system to concretely support the major orientations set by President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema.
Beyond the agricultural aspect, the message is political. Science is no longer called upon solely to produce knowledge. It must now directly contribute to national priorities.
Food sovereignty still to be built
The progress achieved is encouraging. However, it should not mask the remaining challenges. The researchers themselves stress the need to expand experimental areas to improve trial quality and increase production volumes. Moving from scientific experimentation to industrial production is often the most delicate step.
The financial stakes are also high. Agricultural modernisation requires massive investments, adequate infrastructure, accessible financing mechanisms for producers, and better organisation of value chains.
But for the first time in a long while, Gabon appears to be engaging in a coherent reflection linking research, agriculture, industry and economic sovereignty. The ministerial visit to Kougouleu symbolises a paradigm shift. In the new vision promoted by the authorities, food independence will not only be the result of investments or administrative decisions. It will also come from laboratories, research centres, and scientific innovation.
By 2027, if the targets are met, Gabon could demonstrate that in Africa, food sovereignty is built as much with researchers as with farmers. A quiet but potentially decisive transformation for the country’s economic future.
