15-12-2020 | di COOPI

CAR. 300 farmers strengthen their resilience skills

Since 8th to 17th September 2020, COOPI - Cooperazione Internazionale organised the second wave of distribution of agricultural kits in the five municipalities of Pissa, Nola, Mbaiki, Baléloko and Mbata (Prefecture of Lobaye), in the framework of the project "Support to the resilience of the vulnerable population of the Lobaye phase II" funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). The official handing over of the kits to the 300 vulnerable farmers - 126 women and 174 men - took place in the presence of the local authorities with whom COOPI has always collaborated since the beginning of the project, using a participatory approach.

This donation represents a further step towards the empowerment of the populations affected by the humanitarian crisis in the Lobaye prefecture. According to the projections of the "IPC Analysis (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification) of Acute Food Insecurity September 2020-August 2021", the rate of food insecurity will remain at the "Crisis" level (IPC Phase 3) until August 2021. The key factors of food insecurity are linked to the fact that agriculture - which is the main livelihood of the majority of Central African households - continues to suffer from the volatility of the security situation and difficulties in accessing agricultural inputs and tools. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact, causing the prices of imported agricultural inputs to rise and transport costs to increase.

The kits included: 300 tarpaulins, 300 aluminum basins, 1,200 packaging bags and 125 liters of phytosanitary products; this equipment will enable the 300 farmers to increase and strengthen their production and storage capacity for agricultural products.

Following an evaluation conducted in order to develop and adapt the composition of the agricultural kits to the individual needs of the beneficiaries, on 17th July 2020, AICS had already offered the kits to the Central African Agricultural Development Agency (ACDA), an institutional actor and partner of COOPI.

Thanks to AICS funding, this project aims to contribute to the diversification of production and to strengthen agricultural techniques through new means of production, as well as to offer an opportunity for self-employment and a secure source of income, especially to vulnerable young people and women in the Lobaye, who will thus be able to obtain better living conditions.

By promoting a development model based on support for small producers, the action supported by AICS and implemented by COOPI, in close collaboration with Central African institutional actors, contributes to poverty reduction and enables the realization and enjoyment of the fundamental right to food of the population. Ultimately, the project fits in with the national strategy of the Central African government, which considers agriculture as a factor of national reconciliation, essential for restoring social cohesion.