Creating a “new rural reality” for young entrepreneurs to succeed

By Monica Romano

The young women and men who gathered at IFAD on Saturday for the Youth Session not only have clear ideas, but do not seem discouraged by the challenges and constraints they are fully aware of and that have even been already experiencing themselves. Coming as representatives and leaders of farmer organizations or invited as participants in IFAD-supported programmes, they showed enthusiasm and commitment to making FAFO somewhat different, maybe more special, compared to the past. Simply by having their voice being heard for the first time in such an important dialogue and partnership platform. Perhaps also knowing that the youth do not have that many opportunities to speak with the world of the adults, present their views and proposals, and even make recommendations, especially in the international arena and in front of policy makers. What impressed me although it did not come as a surprise was the strong awareness and sense of responsibility the young participants demonstrated in all their interventions and contributions, in several ways. Sometimes, I perceived they were feeling to be like “elected”, in the positive sense. I mean, they understood that they were representing the youth community as a whole, and therefore that they had to take advantage of this unique opportunity, avoiding to make mistakes and making sure they did not miss anything they would regret afterwards…

While putting on the table a number of challenges the rural youth face – limited decision-making, experiences and leadership skills, self-confidence but also trust from the older generations; and also those that may be common to their parents, such as limited access to land, credit, training and market – the young participants were also proud of highlighting their many, specific strengths: creativity, flexibility and energy, just to mention a few. One of the biggest challenges they debated upon was the lack of interest on the part of young generations in engaging in agriculture: “there is no pride in being farmers” - stated someone – and “one may even not be able to find a wife if he is a farmer”, echoed another participant. It was made clear that there is need to raise the profile of agriculture, starting early on, from the school. This may be challenging, if we consider that young generations have been seeing their parents struggling in agriculture. Therefore, in order for channelling the message of farming and farmers as good, young people also need to see business opportunities in agriculture, need to become entrepreneurs engaging in a “profession”. This was the world used by the IFAD President, who joint the unusual gathering to listen to the youth’s recommendations.

This final stage of the day was really when the youth proved once again to understand what they want and wish for as well as their ability to articulate their demands not without coming up with concrete proposals. It was unanimously recognized the need for FOs to become ‘youth-sensitive’, not only in terms of representation but also in effective decision-making of young members. Young people also called for youth-focused agricultural development projects and programmes and for participating in project design, implementation, and M&E. In this regard, IFAD-supported projects should systematically include rural young women and men as a target group, with specific support being provided and monitored. Young farmers also expressed the need to enhance their skills and showed they are aware of alternative approaches to the conventional “in-door/face-to-face training”: liaising with students in agricultural institutions or getting exposed to on-the-job experience by working with a successful farmer entrepreneur. Being trained and guided was felt as key also in addressing the issue of young people’s limited access to credit, which should be combined with advice for the business activity to be feasible and sustainable. While recognizing the deep value of indigenous and traditional knowledge, young people indicated that they aim at transforming agriculture through innovation: using media and ICTs and exploring for new opportunities (such as niche markets and agro-turism). All this and much more were the young women and men discussing and recommending to IFAD, farmers’ organizations and their Governments – to create a new rural reality in which to grow as successful entrepreneurs.

Young female farmers can make the difference: a success story from Pakistan

By Musarat Begum

I am a BA student working on agriculture (kitchen gardening) as a part-time job. I have acquired good experience in producing vegetables using indigenous techniques, seeds from my own plot, and compost from my own compost pits, minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. In this way, the vegetables produced are better tasting and healthy. People in my village prefer buying these vegetable due to good taste and better quality as compared to vegetables that are available in the market. I sell my produce at market rates and this is a factor both attracting my costumers and increasing them day by day.

I belong to a poor family living in a rural area, where the available sources of income are very limited. My father works as a carpenter in the village on a daily wage basis and his income is very low. He has to feed a large family and cover our education expenses too. For this reason, I wished to help my father and do something to generate some income. Therefore, I joined as a volunteer the “Bindra Khanam” female CO & Community Development Foundation a cluster organization working on the agriculture sector. I attended a three-day workshop on kitchen gardening through the IFAD-supported Azad Jammu Kashmir Community Development Programme (AJKCDP). This training enabled me to learn useful techniques to grow vegetables and help my father with kitchen gardening. As a result of this, we were able to produce vegetables for household consumption and to save Rs. 48,000 annually, excluding production costs. I am very happy to have contributed to ensure that my family was able to cover the expenses associated to the education of my brothers and sister. Furthermore, my experience generated a positive impact on successful involvement of young people in agriculture.

In the second year of vegetable production, I managed to increase the vegetable cultivation area and produce even more surplus. Through sales, during the whole year, I earned Rs. 52,000 and saved Rs. 48000. I also dried some vegetables to be consumed during the winter season. All my family members supported me during plugging, sowing, and marketing the vegetables. This was a mutually-learning process, with me being helped by my father and my father learning from my experience.

I believe that commitment, training and skills development in agriculture, better use of local and knowledge resources, and full support from my family were the major factors of success. Nevertheless, I also faced a number of constraints such as water shortage; unavailability of quality seeds, solar drying, storage and packing facilities, and tunnels for off seasons vegetable production; limited access to market; and land erosion.

The following measures could be adopted for agriculture development in rural areas: build water pounds near spring channels to collect and store excess water and use it for dry season; build protecting walls to stop land; grow forest nurseries as well as fruit plant nurseries through community organizations (COs) to promote social forestry and income generation of people; promote small scale dairy farming as well as poultry farming to develop natural resources for organic agriculture development; enhance skills of COs about agriculture, social forestry, poultry and livestock development; and promote organic agriculture through the use of local resources.

Four-Point Plan to help young jobless

Ray Auvray, the head of a top UK provider of employment, education and training services for young people, today urged the government to adopt a four point action plan to tackle record youth unemployment.
Mr Auvray, who is executive chairman of Prospects, said the 1.02 million jobless 16 to 24-year-olds was an “appalling statistic.”

“But more than that, it represents a real tragedy for the

Managing for impact: learning from successes and failures

The East and Southern Africa (ESA) annual workshop focusing on managing for impact kicked off on 14 November in Arusha, Tanzania. The event brings together 200 participants from 17 countries. 

This is a special event on many fronts. To start with, the participants warmly welcomed colleagues from South Sudan. Secondly, they bid farewell to Ides de Willebois, who is moving on to lead the West and Central Africa division.  And last but not least, this is a unique event because for the first time, participants have embraced moving away their from traditional way of doing workshops and have embraced knowledge sharing methods.

Ides de Willebois in his opening remarks reiterated the fact this is a learning and sharing event. “Without learning and sharing we cannot improve and we cannot have impact”. He also went on to say that “we need to have a better understanding of what we do, so that we can do it better.”

In concluding his remarks, de Willebois mentioned that he is planning to start an exchange visit between East and Southern Africa and West and Central Africa. “I hope that West and Central Africa colleagues will join next year’s annual event, so that they can learn from your experience”. 

Breaking the mould

Whenever you decide to innovate or break away from business as usual, there is some apprehension. You feel gratified when breaking the mould ends up being successful and resonates with the expectations. And this is exactly what happened at the ESA event.

It was so refreshing to see 200+ participants embrace knowledge sharing methods such as openspace, spectogramme and world cafe type discussions. Thanks to these participatory methods, they started to mingle, bond and in no time they got to know each other.  

In the process, they heard many stories, including one about how ESA implementation workshops evolved from a being top-down loan administration events to more learning events owned and organized by the projects.

The majestic mount Kilimanjaro and the Kalali women dairy cooperative

As a child, when school was  over, I would be counting the days so that I could join my grandmother in Mount Damavand. Damavand is Persia’s tallest mountain in the Alborz mountain range. Grandma had these wonderful stories about mount Everest, the far way mount Fuji and then a majestic mountain in Africa - mount Kilimanjaro. 

I was intrigued by mount Kilimanjaro, because as a I child I found it difficult to fathom that Africa had mountains. So, on Monday when we had to sign-up for the field trips, I could not believe that finally I would be able to see this far far away mountain.

Unfortunately the majestic mount Kilimanjaro decided to remain pretty veiled and the clouds did not cooperate. But nonetheless, seeing it was an emotional moment and brought back many fond childhood memories.

We then moved on to visit the Kalali women dairy cooperative. This cooperative is part of the Agricultural Sector Development Programme where IFAD is investing loan funds in supplementing financing to the nationwide development programme, to counteract the depletion of the initial funds committed by development partners as part of a basket fund arrangement.

The cooperative is located in Machame division, Hai district in Kilimanjaro region. Inspired by a local daily community business, this cooperative was established with 132 members in 1988. The cooperative’s goal is to:

• increase income of poor rural households, particularly women in the area through a number of different income generating activities
• improve lives of orphans and provide assistance to poor families who were unable to provide education and sound nutrition for their children

“To get going the cooperative members contributed 1000 shillings each and payed a membership fee of 50 shillings,” explained Nancy Manasseh Kidin, the cooperative’s chairperson.

Considering their scarce income, these monies were paid in 4 installments. The cooperative started with 8 dairy cows. In 1995 they had 41 dairy cows.

Considering the vital role women play in rural societies, the cooperative decided that women headed-households were the ones to receive the cows.  They agreed that the person who receives the cow for a period of seven months would:

• give one litre of milk a day to the orphanage
• give the calves to other women headed-household and members of the cooperative 

As a result in a short time, 24 women who had signed up to this deal managed to provide dairy cows to 117 cooperative members.

Today the cooperative has a total of 260 members.

Diversifying activities

These industrious women used their income to diversify their business. In the 90s they bought themselves a milling machine.

“We provided milling service in the local market and expanded our business by buying a container to store the maize”, said Kidin.

“We also used the profits from the milling business to buy seeds.”

In 1993, they went one step further and bought themselves an electric machine and donated their diesel operated milling machine to another women group.

With the profit from their milling business they bought feed for the cows.

A terrible blow

They had a flourishing business, produced milk in abundance and sold this to a company in Arusha, thinking that a company is a reliable partner.

“We failed to ask for the money upfront and the company failed to pay us 12,000,000 schillings”, said Kidin.

This was a terrible blow for them. The community lost confidence in cooperatives and felt let down.

This mishap taught the cooperative an important lesson: never accept an “IOU”, always finish a transaction, sell, get your money and go on.

Despite this set back, they managed to back on their feet, thanks to the generous contribution of Italians.

A new door opens: dairy processing 

The Italians provided them processing instruments and that is how they started making butter and cheese.

Today they produce:

• 400-800 litres of milk a day
• 10-20kg of cheese per day
• 50-95 packs of butter per week
• 400-600 packs of yogurt per week

They keep track of their daily production and make some impressive graphs without using Excel. They also have a sophisticated booking keeping practice.

They package their products and have a registered trademark. “We sell the dairy products at Moshi, to grocery stores, to hotels and send our cheese and butter all the way to Zanzibar”, explains a proud Kidin.

The cooperative has the necessary certification to package its product, however, they are faced with the challenge of not having adequate technical support. This means they are unable to take their business to the next step and benefit from industry’s best practice.

One thing that we observed was the BEST BEFORE DATE on their products. Without exception their products seem to have a shelf life of one year!!!!

Kidin shared with us that the cooperative aspires to be able to:

• procure large 50 litre metal containers to store the milk instead of using plastic containers
• avail themselves of technical expertise and training so that their products are of high quality meet regional standards, have bar codes and can compete with Kenyan products
• have access to veterinary service
• have access to East African Community Market and get packaging machinery 
• have all the women of the community become members of the cooperative
• become a renown cooperative both inside and outside Tanzania

In conducting their business, the cooperative has learnt the importance of:

• providing thorough and in depth training to the machine operators, so that they do not only know how to operate the machine, but also maintain it properly
• understanding the market demand and their potential competitors
• doing a good market search before buying equipment and better understanding what is needed and how a piece of equipment can help them 

Expanding the business and facing new challenges

With a relatively good income from their dairy business, the cooperative bought a sunflower oil pressing machine and started a savings credit cooperative (SACCOS).

The SACCOS has 375 members and started with a capital of 3.2million schillings.

The older women of the community put their savings in the SACCOS and the more business oriented women use the SACCOS to get a loan. The loans have an interest rate of 3%.

Kidin shares with us that the SACCOS are faced with two challenges:

• underpayment
• corruption

This has led to a loss of 22 million schillings.  This loss made the community understand the importance of choosing right people as SACCOS board members. They now know that a board member:

• needs to be a trusted member of the community
• one who understands the ins and outs of the business and entire process
• one who has knowledge of financial management so that they can play a supervisory role, detect collusion and immediately take corrective actions

Investing in health and eduction of young people

The community is committed to provide education for the children and young people - especially to orphaned children and those from less advantaged families.

They use their profits to send children from disadvantaged families to school and are also assisted by Italians who are sponsoring a number of children and putting them through school.

Their vision is that every child has to go to school.

Their sustained programme of investing in education of their children is one of their great successes. Thanks to this initiative many young people have successfully finished school, obtained their degree and now serve as accountants, agriculture specialists, engineers and health workers.

Many have heard of WFP’s school feeding programme. Well, the Kalali women dairy cooperative runs a similar programme - they support school feeding by providing one glass of milk per class. 

The cooperative challenges

Kidin shared with us the cooperative challenges: 

• continuous power cuts which lasts days
• lack of access to adequate and state of the art machinery for packaging and conservation so that they are able to compete in the  market
• lack of access to technical expertise to take the business to its next level
• lack of local talents and expertise
• lack of access to appropriate equipment for conservation
• high taxation and cumbersome regulations
• competition with Kenyan products

The cooperatives aspirations

Kidin and the cooperative members aspire to:

• have all women in the area become members of the cooperative
• give dividends to all the members and not just provide contributions in kind
• create more employment opportunities
• send all children to school
• expand the sunflower pressing business
• innovate and continuously provide new services to the community
• provide capacity building
• build technical and leadership skills and groom local talents
• set up a milk bar so that community members understand that there are other options to drinking alcohol
• do more follow-ups and have a better feel what you can realistically achieve 
• develop robust business plans

We cannot but wish this group of hardworking and resilient women the best of luck. They are a great example of how when a community takes development in their hands, despite set back, they are able to move on and bring about change. I am sure the Kalali women dairy cooperative will go from success to success and manage to fulfill all their aspirations and be a model for many more women.

Whitbread teams up with the Prince's Trust to combat youth unemployment

Whitbread has joined forces with youth charity, The Prince's Trust, to pilot the 'Get into Hospitality' programme in the West Midlands, which is set to provide local disadvantaged young people the skills and confidence to find a job.

Twelve unemployed young people aged between 16-25 years will be given the opportunity to join a

KLM5 Takes Off at DA-BSWM Grounds

GAME ON! Gathered in the grounds through the bujong call, KLM5 opens with a bang with representatives from DA, DAR, DTI, UN Women, and IFAD.

The 5^th Knowledge and Learning Market (KLM5) officially opened on October 19, 2011, in the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Soils and Water Management (DA-BSWM) grounds, Quezon City. KLM5 is a two-day activity

DA Undersecretary Joel Rudinas and DAR Undersecretary Rosalina Bistoyong led the ribbon-cutting ceremony with IFAD-Philippines Country Programme Officer Yolando Arban. Also present in the ceremony are DAR-Region 10 Director Felix Aguhob, DAR-Region 13 Director Faisal Banduay, UN Women M&E Officer Loren Umali, RuMEPP Director Jerry Clavesillas, DAR-FAPSO Officer Susan Perez, and DAR Director Susan Leones.

Booths showcasing products and various information materials were opened to participants. Exhibitors are composed of government agencies, NGOs, academic institutions, and IFAD-funded projects such as the RaFPEP, CHARMP2, RUPES, CURE, NMCIREMP, and RuMePP.

Participants of the event expressed excitement over the event and to the products that exhibitors offer. Aside from the booths, entries for the photo and t-shirt design contests are displayed. A photo booth is also available for the participants to take quirky shots wearing different costumes. (Written by Sharleene Kay Alayan, RaFPEP/Photo courtesy of Patrick Depolio, CHARMP2)

Snapshot - Budding Talents

Nicaragua's PRODESEC project puts area youth in the drivers' seat

FARM 98.0 FM: The vocal gateway to agricultural information

Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of 80% of the 4.5 million people inhabiting the remote communities and villages of Imo State, a rural state in south-eastern Nigeria. However, agricultural extension services which should support farming have collapsed, due to the unavailability of input materials needed to support this service. The outcome is that smallholder farmers lack access to reliable market information and advanced farming techniques, and use outdated techniques that turn out small volumes of products. 

Today thanks to the efforts of Nnaemeka C. Ikegwuonu and FARM 98.0 Radio, the farmers have a precious resource. FARM 98.0 FM designs and broadcasts daily agricultural, environmental management and market information in the local Igbo language to 250,000 small farmer listeners living in 3 remote and isolated local government areas of Imo State. 

FARM 98.0 broadcasts 10 hours a day, sharing contemporary agricultural and environmental management techniques, daily market information, advertises farm products and imparts critical business skills. Smallholder farmers use the daily broadcast programme to decide what to produce, when to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce in order to boost their yields and income.

In this interview Ikegwuonu shares how and why he decided to set up this valuable service for smallholder farmers and tells us about his passion for agriculture.

Entrepreneurs beyond borders #gyin

On Wednesday 12 October, some of the participants of the Youth Conference - Agents of Change visited the pineapple agro-processing facilities of Dieu Donne Alladjodjo, located about 60 kilometres north of Cotonou. We had a rather eventful trip, as half-way to our destination, our convey had an accident.

Thank God, no one was seriously injured. We duly followed all UN security procedures, informed both IFAD and UN security officers. With their respective blessings - and as they say in this part of the world - all protocols observed -  we continued our trip to the world of pineapple processing!

Benin goes proud of its pineapples, as they are  deemed one of the best in the world. In 1998, the annual production was approximately 100 million tonnes. However, the planters were unable to exploit this gold mine because they did not have access to regional and international markets, nor in a position to improve the quality of their products.
This is why a decade or so ago, the pineapple planters got together to explore how they could exploit this great asset and increase their income, improve their livelihoods and provide a better life for their families and communities. As a result, they embarked on a successful processing journey.

Alladjodjo entered into processing business when was 19 years old.  Today he runs a successful business which gives employment to 307 people of which 80% are women and has a total annual income of CFA200 million. The plant is equipped with the “en norme” equipment meeting international standards, and has the capacity to process up to 80 tonnes of pineapple a day.

“We buy traditional and organic pineapples from individual farmers, farmer associations and cooperatives operating in Mono, Zou, Ouémé and Atlantique region”, explainedAlladjodjo. “When we embarked on this journey we realized that while the pineapple industry was a gold mine, however, we were faced with the challenge of having access to good inputs, thus being able to produce good quality final product.”

That is how they engaged with the IFAD-funded Rural Economic Growth Support Project which helped them get access to good inputs such as fertilizer and built their capacity to develop rural agro-based micro and small enterprises.

Today, Alladjodjo sells canned pineapple juice wholesale at local, national and regional level. "I sell 3000 boxes of pineapple juice for a total of CFA15,000,000", explains Alladjodjo,



This young man’s story inspired and flared the entrepreneur spirit of the young Africans, Latin Americans, Egyptian, Syrian and Yemeni participants in the group who saw Alladjodjo experience as  great import-export opportunity. It was amazing to see how business cards were exchanged and hear the questions and clarifications about import-export legal framework.

Ebtesam saw a new business opportunity for her grocery store and  Mohamed, our fashion designer, seriously started considering entering into pineapple import-export business.

What we witnessed on this hot and humid day in Allada was visionary entrepreneurs connecting with and learning from each other.  Definitely, this field trip is the beginning of many future global business opportunities.


Let’s hope next time you are in Yemen or Syria you'll be able to drink Alladjodjo’s pineapple juice and that let's hope that Alladjodjo's achievements inspire many more young entrepreneurs and help improve many more lives.

Ça c’est l’Afrique: The backstory #gyin

Young entrepreneurs from around the world have gathered in Cotonou, Benin to share knowledge and learn from each other’s experiences for a four-day event titled “Youth Entrepreneurs – Agents of Change.


Yesterday Canal 3, a private TV in Benin approached us and asked to interview Mohamed Beavougi, the director of West and Central Africa. We agreed to meet at the TV station at 7pm and to go on air live at 7:30pm.

We got there on time, met the journalist, got settled in the studio, did a test run and were all set to go. And three minutes before going on air, something does not work and a piece of equipment breaks!

The technician starts running around, goes out, comes back with some cables. It is now 7:29.... and the technician is still running around. What was most incredible is that no one panicked. It is now 7:32 and the journalist is casually chit chatting with Mohamed and says: “We have a technical problem, I am afraid we cannot go on air until we resolve the problem.”

I leave the studio and go to the adjacent room, where I find the technician literary inside the equipment. The room is dark, and I see the technicians using their cellphones as flash lights. I stood there in awe, looking at how these gentlemen solved the problem and fixed the broken equipment.

Twenty-three minutes later, we managed to go on air live. When the technician came back in the studio, he looked at us and said: “Ça c’est l’Afrique”.

I challenge all the high-tech and well-equipped TV studios around the world to solve the technical problems the way their African colleagues did!

And here is Mohamed’s interview.

P.S. Wonder what CNN's Michael Holmes has to say about this BackStory :)

Using astronomy and animals, voices to predict rainfall: A Maasai practice #gyin #sfrome

There is growing recognition that indigenous peoples are affected by the economic, social and environmental impact of climate change and that their traditional knowledge may be critical for effective adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Mosses Ndiyaine from Tanzania, who was both at last month's Share Fair and now in Cotonou for the Young People Conference- Agents of Change, tells us how the Maasai use indigenous knowledge and astronomy to predict rainfall and adapt to climate change.

Meet Ebtesam Abdullah Saad - a young Yemeni lady and an agent of change #gyin

Ebtesam Abdullah Saad, is 22 years old. She lives in Tihamah, 100 kilometres away from San’a in Yemen.

She has travelled to Cotonou in Benin to take part at the Youth conference - Agents of change to share her experience and to learn what other young people in different countries are doing and how they are overcoming their challenges and working to reach their aspirations.

She is an amazing young woman. Saad not only is a farmer, but also runs a successful grocery shop, is the chairperson of the savings groups, runs literacy and family planning classes for her community.

“I go proud of my various activities. I have a grocery store which I run together with my mother and my other siblings. I have two hectares farm land where I grow potatoes, tomatoes, sorghum and different types of vegetables”, explains Saad.

Saad’s farm land produces 15 tonnes of potatoes and 1.5 tonnes of tomatoes annually and she can count on an annual income of 600,000 Rials. Saad - a savvy farmer - knows that for her farm to have a good yield and be able to have a secure income, she needs to invest in seeds and fertilizers. “And this is precisely why I spend 60% of my income on inputs and to buy fuel for the generator which we use for irrigation”, says Saad.

Another feather in Saad’s hat is the savings group she chairs. “You know, it is impossible for women to have access to credit, so what we did, is to get organized and we set up our own savings group”, says a proud Saad.

“The group started in 2008 and today has 31 members - all women. So far we’ve given out 64 loans for a total of 845,000 Rials”.

This women’s savings group gives out loans ranging from 15,000 to 180,000 Rials and requires no guarantee or collateral. And guess what, to date, everyone has completely repaid their loans. Yet another example that women are credit worthy! One would hope that credit and financial institutions will finally open their doors to credit worthy women!

“I am looking forward to sharing my experience, challenges and aspirations with the other young people at this event these stories and show them that women can be self-sufficient and independent, that women are credit worthy, that women are as good, if not better entrepreneurs and business people”, remarks Saad.

Saad is learning English and aspires to have the local women’s savings group recognized at national level. She is a role model within her community and seeks to build the capacity of as many women as possible and empower them to take their lives in their hands.

“I hope that by the time I have my second child, at least 70% of the women in my community have an income generating activity and can stand on their feet”, says the four-month pregnant Saad.

And we can only keep our fingers crossed and wish Saad and the courageous ladies of her community the best of luck!

#gyin: Global Youth Innovation Network a platform for young women entrepreneurs to shine and advance their business

From 10-13 October 2011, IFAD together with Phelps Stokes Fund and in collaboration with the Government of Benin, Songhai Centre, Palmares Fundação cultural, Fundación Activos Culturales Afro (ACUA) and the GIVE 1 Project is holding a four-day event for young entrepreneurs - agents of change.

This morning, I met Nabiha Farrag - one of the many participants of this event. Farrang is a young Egyptian entrepreneur who runs a handicraft workshop in Asyut, south of Cairo.

"I am coming to this event to share what I am doing with a wider audience. I see this as a business opportunity to show case my products and to advance my activity", says Farrag.

Farrag started her handicraft business inspired by her father's work. After working with him for 15 years, four years ago she spread her wings and set up her own workshop. Her biggest challenge was and continues to be access to credit.

"To set up my workshop, I got an initial loan of EGP3000 and after I showed that I was credit-worthy I managed to get an extra EGP5000."

Farrang's monthly income is just enough to make ends meet. To really take the workshop  but to really take the workshop to scale, she needs approximately EGP20,000 to buy additional equipment and quality raw material.


Farrag hopes that this event will give her a platform to share her experience, to make new contacts, to show case her products, to manage to mobilize resources so that she can further advance her business.

"I will have a stand during the event and sincerely hope that when people see the workshop's products, the orders will start pouring in. One of my aspirations and goals from this event is to be able to sell my products and make enough money to buy the additional equipment I need for the workshop", explains Farrang.

Farrang although married is practically a single mother. "I am coming to this event with lots of hope. It was a great sacrifice to leave behind my four year old son. I sincerely hope that I get a lot from this event", tell me Farrang.

And we all hope that on Friday when she leaves, she leaves rich in heart, in soul, in knowledge and as they say in French rich in "sous". We should not forget that  investing in women and young girls is the pathway to stability and growth. This is why it is important to empower women, because by doing so, we make sure that the entire community thrives.

#sfrome: Partnership with young farmers to promote collective action and entrepreneurship development (38)

By Monica Romano and Zoumana Bamba

The story of a young farmer without land kicked off the discussion and experience sharing around what are the needs, expectations and challenges of rural young people and what institutions like IFAD can do to enable them become the leaders of tomorrow and build a promising future for themselves, their families and the communities they live in.

Start with nothing, but dream big. This is the story of a young entrepreneur, Leonard. Supported by the Songhai Centre after 18 months of training, Leonard rented a piece of land from the Centre and has been busy setting up a vegetable garden. Only a year after, Leonard’s life has changed. He is able to sell the harvested cabbage, carrot to the market with a support from the Songhai Centre. This was the beginning of his success. He has put some of the profit back into the business to buy a variety of seeds, thus having a vegetable of products to sell. Leonard is a shining example of the importance of persistence and commitment, in spite of initial difficulties. Leonard has become a proud young man earning an honest living from Agriculture. Another story which illustrates that agriculture can be attractive to a young generation looking for opportunities and that one can make money from it.

George Fernandez, President of the International Movement of Catholic Agricultural Rural Youth (MIJARC), stressed that agriculture is key to eradicating rural poverty and hunger, and that there is need to invest in rural youth to boost the agricultural sector, while supporting policies that can facilitate their engagement in agriculture. Over the past year, MIJARC has been implemented an IFAD-supported grant to map young farmer organizations, in collaboration with FAO. The grant aims to find out the reality of rural young people by mapping their own farmer organizations or those in which young people are represented. It also act as a platform for the rural youth express their views and explain their condition though a survey addressed specifically to them and the hosting of regional consultations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Through these gatherings, young people are invited to share their experiences and indicate the support they need to become successful farmers and entrepreneurs.

Some of the main outcomes of the mapping exercise was presented by Charlotte Goemans (FAO), who showed that only a quarter of the surveyed farmer organizations was found to consist only of young members, whereas the majority of “mixed” organizations have nevertheless more than 50% young farmers as members. The figures increase slightly when data refer to Africa.

In reporting from the consultation that took place in Dakar at the end of August, Clemence Roger (MIJARC) meaningfully started by quoting from young people who participated in the event: “Rural youth are not aware of their rights” stated a Moroccan guy, echoed by another participant from Cote d’Ivoire, according to whom “ young people do not have enough experience in advocacy and lobbying”. The young people had a lot to say and made a number of recommendations indicating the way forward to successfully partner with them and effectively achieve objectives of rural development and rural poverty reduction. Education and capacity building programmes need to be defined together with the rural youth, and women need a special attention in order to ensure equal participation and mainstream gender considerations in selecting both themes and timing of the training. Young people also indicated that they should be involved in design and implementation of rural development policies, projects and programmes as well as to be adequately represented in farmer organizations.

A lively discussion took place after the various presentations across the session, with the facilitation of Philippe Remy, IFAD Country Programme Manager for Mali, and the moderation of Nora OurabahHaddad, Rural Employment and Institutions Officer at FAO. It was highlighted that innovation and creativity characterizing the youth should not forget about the importance of intergenerational transfer of knowledge from the more experienced farmers to today’s generation. The challenges of identifying farmer organizations that are really representing their members also apply to institutions of young people or those dealing with issues pertaining to them. It was also noted that the negative image of agriculture already starts to get built within the family, and then is consolidated at school and finally at the university. Finally, it was concluded that the approach to address youth-related issues needs to be holistic and that agriculture cannot be dealt with as a separate segment.

IFAD social reporting team: messengers of soundbites calling for action

The first day of 34th session of IFAD’s Governing Council was both intense and exciting!

IFAD was honoured to have a number of distinguished keynote speakers and the IFAD social reporting team had the privilege of using social media to bring the words of our esteemed guests to millions of people.

A silent revolution has happened at IFAD. 18 months ago, who would have imagined that one day social reporting would be mainstreamed in IFAD activities and processes? Well, now it is. The very fact that social reporters had seats assigned to them in the plenary hall is a testimony of this fact!

Thanks Andreina for reserving a strategic corner for us and given the success we are sure next year we'll have a bigger one!

Today, thanks to social media and social reporting we were able to share the moving words pronounced by Her Royal Highness Princess Haya Al Hussein United Nations Messenger of Peace; share the wise words of Mr Kofi Annan, Chairman of the Alliance and IFAD President’s call for action.

24 hours later, the soundbites of HRH Princess Haya, Kofi Annan and IFAD President have gone viral and the virtual world is talking about important issue such as the need for:

• passion and commitment at international level to solve the hunger problem
• more investments in agriculture
• more investments in political capital to spearhead a transformation of the rural sector to expand financial services in rural areas and ensure they have access to infrastructure
• more investments in human capital to develop and equip poor people, particularly the young people
• a change in the mind set to turn agriculture into profitable business in particular for young people

The panel discussion on “Feeding future generations – Young rural people today, prosperous farmers tomorrow” that took place in the afternoon was also an intense experience. The challenging questions posed by the moderator, Tumi Makgabo, engaged the audience in the room and on social media for over 2 hours.

We had an overwhelming response on Twitter and Facebook with tweets flying in from all over the world and questions being posed on our Facebook page.

The interventions of the audience in the room - the panellists, IFAD governors and young farmers and entrepreneurs - are still vibrating on the internet – better known as the “cloud”.

With his passionate interventions, Carlo Petrini, definitively did an excellent job in engaging and more importantly challenging the ministers and governors present in the room.

Two hours was not enough to answer questions such as:

• “What can be the role of young farmers to ensure we can feed 9.0 billion people in 2050”
• “What are the reasons, and what are the solutions for the relative neglect of young people – men and women – in national agricultural programmes, given their critical role in feeding the world tomorrow?
• Why do young people not want to get involved in agriculture?

At the end of the panel, there was a general consensus on the need to listen much more to young people and involve them in paving the way towards a better world.

Petrini was kind enough to grant the IFAD social reporting team an interview. Make sure you tune in and listen to his call for action!



Now we’re getting ready for the second day which will focus on discussing challenges and opportunities of young people in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Near East and North Africa.

I have just walked in the plenary hall and was pleasantly surprised to see the President sitting next to the social reporters. We could not miss the photo opportunity and also to have him on the team just for few minutes.

Make sure you stay tuned!

Browse the photo gallery on IFAD's Facebook page

IFAD Social Reporting Team

Los jóvenes son la clave

Cinco jóvenes comparten sus esperanzas, desafíos y sueños antes del Consejo de Gobernadores
Los jóvenes emprendedores son los que van a alimentar al mundo en 50 años. Son los que van a crear nuevas tecnologías y romper viejos paradigmas. Los jóvenes son la clave. Y durante el Consejo de Gobernadores este 19 al 20 de febrero, los jóvenes campesinos de América Latina vendrán al FIDA a decirnos cómo deberíamos avanzar. En un evento paralelo, "Apoyo a la juventud rural y sus iniciativas microempresariales en América Latina y el Caribe", cinco jóvenes compartirán sus esperanzas, sus desafíos y sus sueños. Estas son sus historias:

GISLANE ANGÉLICA DOS SANTOS Tecnóloga en Procesos Gerenciales, Red de Cooperativas del Vale Do Rio Gaviao (Bahia, Brasil)
Tiene 23 años, y nació en la comunidad rural de Boa sorte, município de Jacaraci, Estado de Bahia. Desde que era niña tuvo grandes dificultades para estudiar, ya que el acceso a las escuelas era muy difícil, pues no le permitía el espacio para trabajar con sus padres en el campo, por lo que tuvo que suspender sus estudios en varias ocasiones. A finales de 2006 se le presentó la oportunidad de hacer una pasantía en la red de cooperativas de actividades agrícolas, de la cual sus padres son miembros. Esto le permitió adquirir un aprendizaje a través de la práctica en diversos aspectos como procesos gerenciales y administrativos e incluso aspectos técnicos para el mejoramiento de procesos productivos. Con el propósito de mejorar sus capacidades e incrementar sus conocimientos, estudió a distancia Tecnología de Procesos Gerenciales. Esto le permitió entender aún más la gestión cooperativa, la administración y el manejo de recursos humanos, y los procesos para su funcionamiento eficiente.

Actualmente trabaja como gerente de oficina de la red, en la elaboración de nuevos proyectos y maneja parte del área administrativa y de recursos humanos. De igual manera viene promoviendo fuertemente inclusión y el trabajo con jóvenes y mujeres en las comunidades con las cuales la red opera.

ISAURA MARIELA QUINTERO MELGARA Tesorera, Cooperativa La Quinta Libre (Estela, Nicaragua)
Aunque Isaura sólo posee un año de Contaduría Pública y Finanzas, se encuentra desempeñando el cargo de tesorera del plan de negocios. Confiesa que cuando ingresó a la cooperativa, no tenía ningún conocimiento sobre el proceso de producción del frijol y su comercialización, pero gracias a su trabajo ha logrado un aprendizaje práctico y rápido que le ha permitido desempeñarse satisfactoriamente. Además de ser la tesorera del grupo, se desempeña como administradora del centro de acopio de granos básicos. Las funciones que cumple actualmente le fueron asignados por la junta directiva, y consisten en llevar la contabilidad básica, estructura de costos de los productos a comercializar, utilidad, y rentabilidad del negocio.

Además de sus actividades en la cooperativa, Isaura tiene activa participación social y política en su comunidad. Viene realizando trabajo comunitario prestando su servicio solidario en el preescolar comunitario, facilitando el aprendizaje de hijos de los productores y productoras. También participa en las reuniones que realiza el poder ciudadano en su comunidad, ayuda a la toma de decisiones y se integra a las actividades de desarrollo de su territorio. De igual manera, su tiempo libre lo dedica ayudando a jóvenes de su municipio, a través de la promoción y desarrollo de actividades artísticas. Ella da clases de baile, teatro y canto. Esta trayectoria define a Isaura como una autentica líder en su comunidad.

ALEXANDRA BOHORQUEZ Representante Legal, Asociación de Artesanos de Ramiriqui -ARTERAMI (Boyacá, Colombia)
Tiene 22 años, es madre de Arian Martín de 4, y se desempeña como representante legal de la asociación. Ha vivido siempre en Ramiriqui, aunque luego de terminar el bachillerato, se desplazó a Tunja (Capital de Boyacá) para desarrollar estudios técnicos en Guía Turística y Auxiliar en sistemas y comunicaciones. En 2009 regresó a su municipio donde realizó prácticas en turismo en la Oficina de Cultura y Turismo de la Alcaldía Municipal. Bajo esta práctica, conoció y se involucró con artesanos del municipio, con los cuales deciden formar la Asociación. Desde entonces ha tenido la oportunidad de incrementar su aprendizaje y formación, pues ha participado en diversas capacitaciones como un Diplomado en Gestión Pública, Cursos en el SENA de diseños de productos, diseños de empaques, Dibujo Básico etc. Con el Programa Oportunidades Rurales, ha tenido la oportunidad de asistir a diversos encuentros como foros, ferias y talleres en temas como Banca Comunal, Intercambio de Conocimientos etc., que le han permitido fortalecer sus conocimientos. Fue elegida como jurado nacional e internacional en el Concurso Regional Experiencias de Jóvenes Innovadores realizado por la Corporación PROCASUR, que le permitió conocer otros proyectos de jóvenes rurales, y viajar a Venezuela a conocer a los jóvenes ganadores. El año pasado su organización fue elegida como Escuela Empresa y Tutora Empresarial, en la cual su función es transmitir su experiencia y conocimientos adquiridos como empresa a otras empresas rurales, y deben hacer seguimiento y asistencia a los planes de mejoramiento desarrollados por los aprendices. Esta función la viene liderando Alexandra.

LEIDY DAYANA RIVERA RIVAS Promotora Rural Campesina, Asociación de pequeños caficultores del corregimiento de la marina - ASOPECAM (Valle del Cauca, Colombia)
Leidy Dayana Rivera Rivas tiene 23 años, y se vinculó a la organización desde que su padre se asoció lo cual le dio la oportunidad de asistir a reuniones y capacitaciones. Comenzó su formación especializada realizando una capacitación técnica en recursos naturales en el SENA de BUGA, que la hizo comprender su amor por el campo y su interés en la agroecología y las formas de desarrollarla en su organización. Su vinculación laboral con la Asociación inicia en el comité de control interno como inspectora, donde participó activamente en los diálogos y debates sobre la estrategia de asistencia técnica en la organización, la cual estaba manejada y centralizada en un ingeniero. Gracias a su intervención activa, logró que a ella y dos jóvenes más les abrieran espacio su manejo. Logran implementar una estrategia de Promotoría rural campesina, y fue tanto el éxito de la nueva metodología que un año más tarde la asamblea general decide la contratación permanente de los tres jóvenes para que tomaran las riendas de la asistencia técnica. Desde entonces, Leidy Dayana se desempeña como Coordinadora de calidad en los procesos de certificación, y brinda asesoría técnica en manejo e implementación del café agroecológico, tomando un esquema de intercambio de conocimientos. También lidera la asesoría en la formulación de proyectos, y paralelamente es miembro activo del grupo de jóvenes GELPEMA durante los tres últimos años, lo cual le ha permitido participar en diferentes eventos, ferias y talleres, enfocados a temas de desarrollo rural, agroecología, sistemas participativos de garantía y certificación. Actualmente está muy involucrada a nivel nacional con el tema de inclusión de jóvenes en el Movimiento agroecológico para América Latina y el Caribe. Adicionalmente ha realizado cursos en técnica forestal, y actualmente está terminando la carrera de Ingeniería Agroforestal. Vive con sus padres en el campo, y está convencida que el desarrollo sostenible está en el campo y en la agricultura agroecológica, ámbito donde continuará su futuro profesional.

SANDRA GUADALUPE SANDOVAL Gerenta Local, Asociación Cooperativa Agropecuaria y Pesquera “LOS TEPEMECHINES” de r.l (Metapán, Salvador)
Testimonios Directos - Sandra Guadalupe Sandoval Orellana
Sandra Guadalupe tiene 20 años, es socia de la Cooperativa y actualmente se desempeña como Gerenta Local, en el negocio. Es hija de un socio pescador, con lo cual desde niña ha tenido contacto con la actividad de pesca en agua dulce. A la edad de 17 años comenzó a formar parte de la cooperativa y al iniciar la ejecución del proyecto “Producción y Comercialización de Tilapia en Jaulas Flotantes” en el lago de Guija, se presentó la oportunidad de desempeñar el rol como Gerenta Local. Esta gran oportunidad le permitió aprender mucho sobre la administración del negocio, así como también, conocer el proceso de producción y comercialización de la Tilapia. Aprendió también las formas de alimentarlo de una manera empresarial, con estrategias para bajar costos y aumentar utilidades, los distintos tipos de mercado y canales de distribución.

Durante el tiempo que tiene como Gerente Local, ha tenido que vencer muchos obstáculos como envidias, críticas, dificultades de mercadeo etc. También el bajo valor económico de los ingresos que recibe por su trabajo, se convierte en una limitante para poder seguir su crecimiento y éxito, ya que proviene de una familia muy humilde y de escasos recursos. Gracias a su vinculación con la cooperativa ha descubierto que posee un gran liderazgo, con suficientes capacidades para guiar un grupo y andar una empresa.

Como joven de proyección, desea superarse para lo cual quiere estudiar una carrera universitaria que le permita obtener mejores empleos y poder mejorar sus condiciones futuras. Quiere hacer crecer su cooperativa como una empresa próspera y competitiva que brinde oportunidades de empleo a más personas que lo necesitan, especialmente jóvenes, con mejor preparación que les permita afrontar mejor las demandas del mundo actual. Considera esencial poder continuar sus estudios, para lo cual ha solicitado una beca y se encuentra a la espera de una respuesta favorable ya que el dinero es una de las principales limitantes por las cuales aun no ha ingresado a la universidad, pues quiere estudiar administración de empresas.

Adicionalmente a sus actividades laborales, Sandra dedica su tiempo participando como líder de grupo juvenil de la iglesia católica de su comunidad; asesora de infancia, misionera y catequista para niños y niñas que se preparan para su primera comunión en la misma iglesia; participa como secretaria en la junta de administración de agua potable de cinco comunidades (1,500 familias); guía naturalista voluntaria en el parque nacional San Diego La Barra; y Secretaria de comunicaciones de la asociación para la protección de las Cuencas Hidrográficas del Lago de Güija, ASPROGÜIJA.

Leer Más
Sobre el evento paralelo
Sobre el Consejo de Gobernadores

Finally a report on gender issues that does not exclusively focus on women and covers all gender dimensions

Allow me start this blogpost with a personal note. When you commit to do social reporting, you need to be alert and actively follow the conversation and exchanges.  This means, no daydreaming and no way you can check your emails. You are a reporter. You need to listen, concentrate and proactively follow what is happening in the room. If the topic is one close to your heart, you have a less of a challenge, otherwise, you can easily get drained.

When I volunteered to do social reporting for launch of the FAO-IFAD-ILO publication Gender dimensions of agricultural and rural development: Differentiated pathways out of poverty, I was not too sure what to expect. While I understand and appreciate the importance of gender mainstreaming and being gender sensitive, I have to confess that I would not describe myself as a“gender diehard”.

I found  this well-attended, well-organized and substantive event quite refreshing and this was mainly because the participants and discussants while acknowledging the gender fatigue managed to move away from rhetoric and telling the same things over and over again rather highlighted the challenges facing rural men and women from a different angle. Kudos to the authors and the organizers.

“Today we’ve come together to celebrate the fruit of two years of hard work which has resulted in this evidence-based publication”, said Rosemary Varga Lundius, one of IFAD’s gender advocates. And indeed a celebration it was.

Henock Kifle, IFAD’s Chief Development Strategist, in welcoming the over 80 development practitioners and the numerous member country representatives highlighted that this joint FAO-IFAD-ILO publication and the accompanying seven policy briefs address fundamental questions such as:

• what do we know about the gender dimensions of rural employment?
• what are the gaps in data and research?
• are there examples of good practice that could inform national policies?

The main purpose of this research was to gather information on:

• the different tasks carried out by rural women and men
• the challenges they face
• the policy responses needed to reinforce their role in agricultural and rural development

“The research combines empirical data and good practices based on national and international experiences. The publication presents an updated analysis of development issues that are crucial for addressing rural poverty and achieving the Millennium Development Goals,” said Kifle.

The report and the accompanying seven policy briefs provide evidence that rural women have the potential to lift their households and communities out of poverty. But they are hampered by persistent gender inequities. These inequities limit their access to decent work, which they need as a vehicle for economic empowerment, social advancement and political participation.

Loretta de Luca, our ILO colleague, said the a copy of this publication should be in the offices of all member states and policy makers. I think the bigger challenge is how will they use the findings of the report and what actions will they commit to take to overcome challenges such as:

• valuing the contribution of rural women in bringing about economic growth and reducing poverty
• recognizing the economic role of women as farmers, wage labourers and small-scale entrepreneurs
• recognizing women’s “hidden” economic role as caretakers of children and the elderly

Soline de Villard from FAO brilliantly described the policy briefs.  She said: “the accompanying policy briefings are grounded in rural reality. They are ‘down to rural earth.’”

I’m sure developing the policy briefs was more challenging than putting together the 210 page report. This is because practitioners have the tendency to want to cramp far too much cryptic information and fall into the trap of losing sight of their audience needs.

The policy briefs are for people who do not have time to read something cover to cover. So the challenge is to package the wealth of information in such a way that conveys the essential messages in a simple, direct and compelling manner, thus allowing the policy maker to make the right decision and act in a timely manner.

Well, the seven policy briefs not only are ‘down to rural earth’ they are informative and written in a way that clearly outline what action is needed and what policy options are required for:

• promoting decent work that is fair to both women and men
• investing in skills
• promoting entrepreneurship among rural women
• supporting agricultural value chain development
• investing in infrastructure
• making migration work for women and men
• eliminating child labour

Villard in sharing the concept of ‘time poverty’ said:  “rural women work fewer hours than men in productive work, but all together they work longer hours than men - this both for domestic and productive work.”

“Rural women are relegated to under-valued and under-paid work. They do not have access to infrastructure and child care remains one of the key constraints to women proactively participating in rural labour markets”, highlighted Villard.

She also highlighted the fact that rural employment and women’s employment in particular are characterized by:

• time constraints in domestic and productive work
• informal, unpaid working conditions
• risks and isolation, but women are risk averse

Talking about gender inequalities in rural employment, Villard highlighted this inequality is only partially because of difference in assets. “90% of gender wage gap remains unexplained”, said Villard. “This gap could be contributed to gender discrimination and/or risk aversion.”


This made me reflect that perhaps a challenge to achieve gender equality is for both women and men realize that inequality exists.

During the chat show, moderated by own Cristiana Sparacino - who is born chat show host and is now elevated to the ranks of Oraph Winfrey - FAO’s Eve Crowley pointed out that “to alleviate rural poverty and ensure food security, we need to dig in and understand the root causes of the 90% wage gap between women and men.”

One of the findings of the report that I personally found interesting is summarized in this graphics - namely how being female amplifies rural employment deficits.

This publications is one of the few that I’ve come across that touches upon all gender dimensions and not only women issues.  I think that is why I found it so refreshing. Villard in concluding the presentation of the main findings outlined the need for:

• compiling sex disaggregated data
• creating more and better jobs opportunities for rural men and women
• eliminating child labour
• putting in place effective policies

Talking about employment opportunities, Claudio Lenoci, ILO director for Italy reiterated that ”decent work means equal opportunity for both women and men”. FAO’s Marcella Villareal underscored the fact the without addressing gender inequalities we will not be able to achieve the targets of MDG1 and cannot effectively reduce hunger and poverty.

Crowely, echoing Villareal reminded the participants that “to reduce hunger and poverty and ensure food security, we need to power women economically, create greater autonomy for women and reduce social inequality.”

“We need to transform agriculture into a sector that not only provides employment opportunities but also provides a better livelihoods,”added Crowley.  ILO’s Loretta de Luca passionately advocated that we need to make women protagonist and made the case that investing in rural women is good business.

Let me wrap up this blogpost with one last personal reflection. We often talk about the disconnect between theory and practice. This causes some tension between the practitioner who “dirties his/her hands” and the academic who hypotheses, writes articles which are then peer reviewed and published in prestigious journals. Well, during the chat show, I saw this dynamics in action. It was interesting to see an academic such as Deepa Joshi from Wageningen University citing and quoting from books and academic materials, and Norman Messer - an on-the-ground practitioners - sharing concrete on-the-ground examples.

I was left with the question whether there was any room to bridge this gap? and wonder how big is this gap?

At the end of event, I was satisfied and happy to have spent my Friday morning attending the launch of Gender dimensions of agricultural and rural development: Differentiated pathways out of poverty. I am sure we’ll be hear more about this report. It surely has gone pretty viral on Twittersphere. A big thank you to all the wonderful people who are tweeting and retweeting about this report. And once again kudos and congratulations to FAO-IFAD-ILO colleagues!

The journey from arms to agriculture

The turbulent history of the Republic of Congo with its troubled transition from centralized planning under a Marxist government to a market economy, together with economic mismanagement, military coups and brutal civil conflict during the 1990s has definitely marked the people of this country.

The Republic of Congo, once one of sub-Saharan Africa’s main oil producers, today has more than 40% of its 3.7 million people living under the poverty line most of whom live in rural areas earn their livelihoods as smallholder farmers and fishers.

The country’s economy relies on subsistence agriculture and livestock. Cassava, rice, vegetables are among the main agricultural products and the population is also engaged in rearing small ruminants.

The civil wars of 1993-1994 and 1997-1999 have had a devastating socio-economic impact on the country. During the civil war all fundamental and foundational infrastructure was destroyed. More than 800,000 people were displaced, the population suffered from severe food insecurity and many young children became soldiers.

Once the civil war came to an end, the United Nations family began its post-conflict effort. In 2000, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), in an effort to reintegrate the displaced people and encourage child soldiers to surrender their arms, launched the seven year «Action Communautaire pour le Rétablissement Post-Conflit» project. This project provided basic social services and helped the population to engage in economic activities.

In 2009, building on the UNDP project, IFAD funded the Rural Development Project in the Likouala, Pool and Sangha Departments (PRODER3).

“The objective of this project is to increase the production, productivity and income of poor rural people in a sustainable manner and encourage the young people to put down their arms”, explains Dominique Kenga, Coordinator of the IFAD-funded Rural Development Project.

The project reaches out to 160 villages and covers 15,750 households. The 62,800 poor rural people benefitting from this project are engaged in in the local cassava-based farming system, fisheries and livestock related activities.

The project is enabling farmers to produce, multiply and disseminate improved, disease-free cassava planting materials and seeds. It is providing training and agricultural extension services to give smallholder farmers full access to inputs and know-how. And it is also financing the rehabilitation of rural roads to better connect the over 600 villages.

“One of our other priorities is to encourage the 3000 young people, living in the Pool department, to put down their arms and start engaging in agricultural related activities”, says Kenga.

“During the civil war, Pool department was very badly hit. Things got really bad back in 1993. During this period, many died and as result families were shattered and many young people ended up on the street”.

“For these young people the only way to survive in the fury of the war was to take up arms”, explains a visibly moved Kenga. “What was devastating was the fact that almost 100% of the 3000 young people living the Pool department had become child soldiers. So after the unrest, we had a huge challenge at hand.”

Using rural radio, Kenga and his colleagues launched a campaign to encourage the youngsters to surrender their arms and to embrace agriculture.

“Convincing a young person who has experienced nothing but violence in his or her life is a Herculean undertaking. And we are dealing with 3000 devastated and shattered souls and bodies”, clarifies Kenga.

“The physical and psychological impact of the violence experienced by the youth is beyond words. Our challenge is not only to convince them to put down their arms and go back to the farms, but more importantly to do so in a peaceful and harmonious manner. The last thing we want is for them to act as aggressor and be disrespectful to their parents and other villagers. We want peace!”

To overcome this immense challenge, Kenga and other PRODER3 colleagues provide every young person who surrenders their arms and takes up agriculture between 25,000 to 50,000 CFA and 1.5 acre of land, along with inputs such as seeds, fertilizer. Mostly, the disarmed and demobilized child soldiers cultivate the land belonging to their family. If they are landless, PRODER3 facilitates a renting arrangement where they pay an annual rent of $50 to work on the land.

“We are going further than agriculture and are encouraging them to also engage in fisheries, raise poultry and rear small-ruminants”, clarifies Kenga.

“Farming in Pool department is very much a manual activity and at best the smallholder farmers can produce approximately 2 tonnes of cassava a year, of which 60% is used for local consumption mainly in the form of foufou – processed cassava.”

The goal of Kenga and PRODER3 staff is to ensure food security and transform farming into a viable business. This is why the farmers are now using part of their income to invest in better inputs.

“Our vision is to have an economy based on modern agriculture, an economy whereby we are not dependent on imports but can ensure food security for all”, says Kenga.

“So far we’ve managed to disarm 20% of the young soldiers. Our goal is to disarm the remaining 2400, build a peaceful society based on respect and trust. A society where everyone can lead a decent life, can put enough food on the table and is engaged in a profitable and dignified economic activity".

“Building a better future starts at home. Now that the leader of these youngsters has disarmed and is part of the government, we hope that we can build a peaceful and better future”, says Kenga with smile.

Only time will tell, but definitely, Kenga and his colleagues are on the right track to build a peaceful and prosperous future for the people of Likouala, Pool and Sangha Departments.