PAAJEPEF: to empower rural young people through agro-entrepreneurship
The challenge of sustainable development in Kwango
Although 75% of the Kwango population lives below the poverty line, the region has significant agricultural potential. The population is very young, with over 68% of the working-age population under 25. What's more, large nearby towns and cities, such as Kinshasa and Kenge, can be used as markets to distribute and sell crops.
Currently, many people are reliant upon producing and selling charcoal, which is a major cause of deforestation and the degradation of savannah ecosystems. This is also the case for traditional agricultural practices such as slash-and-burn farming.
The key to success will therefore lie in training young people in farming practices that are both profitable and respectful of the already relatively poor sandy savannah soil, without damaging it further.
The commitment: training young people to bring about a greener future
To meet the challenge of sustainable development in Kwango, an ambitious, structured approach is being put in place in stages. Its aim is to train and support young people so that they can become key agents of change in their region:
- Learning agricultural best practices: young people will receive both theoretical and practical training in market gardening (growing vegetables) and food production (basic food crops) techniques, as well as in managing agroforestry and beekeeping businesses. They will put into practice good farming practices that respect the environment on dedicated fields.
- Financial management coaching: the young people will learn the financial basics to make their farming and beekeeping activities profitable.
- Raising awareness of the need to protect the natural ecosystem: young people will be trained as leaders to engage local communities in combating bush fires and developing profitable crops that are not dependent on deforestation.
The aim: environmentally responsible entrepreneurs
The aim is to sow the seeds of entrepreneurship among the young people of Pelende-Nord and see them grow into the architects of a better future.
By the end of the three-year collaboration with YPARD RDC, the PAAJEPEF project will have trained:
150 rural young people from Pelende-Nord in sustainable agricultural and beekeeping entrepreneurship.
- 30% of them should have income-generating activities or working agricultural/beekeeping micro-businesses. 40% will adopt agricultural/agroforestry production techniques that respect the natural ecosystem. Together with their communities, they will protect the reforested areas and help to reduce the use of bush fires.
In the long term, the project aims to achieve a significant increase in entrepreneurship among local young people, a transition to sustainable agriculture, a reduction in land degradation and the preservation of savannah and forest ecosystems. The aim is to strengthen the economic and environmental resilience of Pelende-Nord.
