OVERVIEW:
Agricultural workers from three villages in the impoverished province of Kasai Oriental will be trained in suitable farming and farm sales techniques. Training will take place under the auspices of a local community centre. The centre will also receive training on community development and some assistance to purchase the necessary equipment to undertake the training.
WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT IT:
The agricultural workers have formed themselves into a network and identified the issues that need to be addressed to improve food security, thus ensuring the solution is appropriate to local needs. Local ownership increases sustainability, and while the project aims to reach 420 farmers initially, longer-term results will extend well beyond this as neighbouring farmers watch and learn from the success of the trained farmers.
Additionally, training up community centre staff has flow on benefits as the Agricultural Working Group is only one of the groups involved in the centre. All groups will benefit from strengthened capacity of the centre and this will have ongoing benefits to the villages supported by the centre.
BUDGET:
The budget will provide tools, seeds and equipment required to train the participating farmers. As part of the project a plot of land will also be purchased for $3,500 giving security of tenure and the opportunity for further practical training on their own land. Additionally the budget covers the training for the farmers and the community centre.
THE NEED:
DRC has suffered from civil strife over a number of years. As a result families no longer have experience in farming and many people have lost all they had, including tools and land. This training will provide farmers with the required knowledge to return to the land, as well as basic equipment to provide them with a start. Assistance with proper accounting for produce will enable them to do more than subsistence farm, and will be the beginning of transformation.
Malnutrition, and poor maternal and child health are also huge problems in this area. Increased agricultural production will improve the health and lives of whole families.
LIFE CHANGE:
