Strengthening Congolese youth through agriculture and agro-ecological entrepreneurship in Kivu
Eastern Congo has been in the midst of armed conflict for decades, with different military groups fighting each other. There is also a high level of unemployment among the youth, making them vulnerable to recruitment by armed groups, exploitation, drug use and crime. However, Congolese youth are bursting with talent and have the potential to actively contribute to the human, economic and social development of their country, if only they are given the necessary opportunities to do so.
Our partnership
KIYO and ADED have been partners since 2017. We learn from each other’s work with youth, as well as from the other KIYO partners through the global KIYO programme. In the DGD 2022-2026 programme, we will focus together on:
- Strengthening climate resilience of young farmers in North and South Kivu through the “Mazingira, maisha yetu” or in English “The environment, our life” project, funded by the Flemish Government through the Flemish International Climate Action Programme / G-STIC.
- Making agriculture attractive again as a decent and sustainable source of income for youth, especially for girls. ADED trains youth on agro-ecological farming techniques and facilitates their access to employment and entrepreneurship in the agricultural sector through the creation of savings with loan groups and agricultural cooperatives.
- Convincing policy makers to recognise women’s access to land as a fundamental right since girls cannot inherit agricultural land according to local traditions.
- Making youth aware of their rights and further develop their life skills such as critical thinking, self-esteem, team work, conflict resolution, ... which will support them to turn into active global citizens.
With our joint programme, we work on two of our four areas of empowerment:
