Those pictured were trained on several themes such as Farming God's Way, bio-digester construction, compost making, gardening, and livestock.
The ECHO West Africa Impact Center seeks to extend their services to equip those working across the Region to more effectively engage women and men in the area of agriculture. Functioning primarily as a
technical support organization, the Impact Center Team joins with community development organizations and workers to enable small-scale farmers and gardeners to nurture their soil and animals,
increase their production, improve their nutrition, and enhance their livelihoods.
ECHO’s training focuses not only on agriculture, but on improving the living conditions of small-scale farmers, and we are interested in agriculture, health, food, environment, income, etc. Our trainings are very practical and at the end of each session each participant is able to practice what they have learned and pass along their training to others.
Following the training campaign comes the period of follow-ups and evaluations. Our training teams traveled to almost all the localities where they gave training to follow up on the implementation of the techniques taught. So, for example, Bobo, Kouka, Solenzo, Bomboila, Koran, Dedougou, Djibo, Kayibo, Laye, Leo, Ourbono, Siby, Dakoro, Sanekui, Toma, and Tougan were followed and accompanied in the application of the various techniques taught By ECHO.
Trainings conducted in 2022
The ECHO West Africa Team directly equipped 3,392 women and men in 2021. They have been systematically following up with the trainee groups/communities to encourage and support their implementation of the plants, practices, and methods/technologies that were shared.
Trainings are actively underway in 2022 and are being conducted with communities, partner organizations, and educational institutions. For security reasons, scheduled trainings are not being listed. However, the West Africa Impact Center Team will welcome your interest and inquiry. Please contact e-mail them at: WestAfrica@echocommunity.org
Services
Hosting conferences and forums which offer training and networking opportunities to network members;
Facilitating regular regional workshops in West African countries, often in partnership with local organizations, to provide technical training and networking opportunities to the network;
Providing a wide range of technical resources through ECHOcommunity.org and from the office located in Burkina Faso;
Offering technical responses to network members inquiring with agriculture and community development questions;
Offering consultations to network members on a case-by-case basis;
Involvement in regionally important research and information dissemination.
ECHO West Africa Staff Traveled to Cameroon 2023-07-04
ECHO West Africa staff traveled to Foumbot, Cameroon to train from May 22 to 24. The training equipped 70 participants made up of 35 men and 35 women.
The following themes were the subject of the work of the said training: the major challenges of agriculture and possible solutions, the method of Foundations for Farming, the 21-day biothermal composting, liquid fertilizer of 14 days, the liquid fertilizer of 10 days, the solid fertilizer of 1 day, the practices of biopesticides, the organic intensive and soilless garden, the virtues and opportunities of Moringa oleifera, the church and community development and finally, make a success of his small local poultry farm.
At the end of the training, the participants expressed their full satisfaction, and each committed to sharing these techniques with at least 10 other people.
When your neighbor's hut is burning, if you are not going to help him put out the fire, your hut is also in danger. By this same impulse of solidarity, we will popularize your techniques so that we can all live healthily and with dignity.
"West Africa is a highly diverse region in terms of agro-climatic conditions and agricultural production potential, as well as with respect to the distribution of vulnerable populations. In general, the northern regions of coastal countries and the landlocked Sahelian countries are relatively food insecure and impoverished. Additionally, rapid urbanization in the region is leading to increasing numbers of urban poor. The population in this region is expected to grow 100 percent between 2010 and 2050, compared to the global growth rate of 38 percent. Population growth combined with low increases in productivity could further tighten resources and increase food insecurity.
Chronic undernutrition and food availability are core challenges to food security in West Africa. Critical gender concerns related to food security include the inability of women to hold on to land and to make decisions regarding household expenditure and consumption, as well as women having less capital than men.
There is ample evidence that the agriculture sector—which accounts for 35 percent of West African gross domestic product and 15.3 percent of regional export earnings—and in particular food staples, is the best engine for generating sustained, rapid and pro-poor economic growth." - Feed The Future
