The Savanes agricultural and rural training center (CFAR) created in 2019 with the support of the agri-agency Fert, the Louis Dreyfus Corporate Foundation and LDC Côte d’Ivoire, has just celebrated the release of the 2nd promotion young people.

To find out more about the first promotion of young CFAR graduates, find the article here

53 young people have already been trained in farming and are then supported in their professional integration.

Among them Clément is a 23-year-old from Kiémou, in Siolokaha (Poro region). After leaving classical education in 3rd grade and obtaining his BEPC, Clément wondered about his orientation. His parents being farmers, the young man grew up in the agricultural world and this activity quickly became obvious to him.

In the town of Dikodougou in 2019 Clément came across flyers announcing the upcoming opening of an agricultural and rural training center in Niofoin. Passionate about breeding and encouraged by his father he went to the selection tests.

He therefore joined the first promotion of the CFAR. His two-year training allowed him to make his breeding project more concrete and to visualize precisely his opportunities in the agricultural world.

“The training was really beneficial to me and taught me a lot, especially in terms of managing a farm. I learned to build my project rather than starting directly with too big ambitions and quickly finding myself without solution”

At CFAR Clément was able to learn how to plan and measure his expenses and calculate his profit.

What he really likes is being able to use his knowledge to help his parents. He shares his know-how and advises them on how to improve their farm.

“As soon as I learned this, I taught the importance of anticipating costs and the methods taught at CFAR to my parents in order to help them manage their money and their farm. I was also able to show them how to properly improve the soil to keep it fertile, teach them good and bad practices.”

To obtain their diploma each student presented in front of a jury made up of professionals. Their installation project aimed at enabling them to exercise the profession of farmer and to have a decent income from it.

Clément presented a project in June 2021 for corn production and pig farming. When he left the CFAR, he first cultivated 1 hectare of maize (with local seeds). He obtained about 2 tons against 1 ton on average among producers in the area, which aroused the curiosity of his neighbors who came in large numbers to visit him. Pig farming asking him for means that he did not have, he was able to adapt and finally preferred to start with a broiler farm which he set up at the beginning of 2022. He received a help endowment (equivalent to 300,000 CFA francs) from the CFAR which enabled him to obtain wire netting, drinking troughs, feeders and chicks to start. Clement has already bred and sold 3 packs of 150-200 head (with less than 1% mortality) during the semester.

If the training lasts two years, the CFAR accompanies and supports the young people for two additional years after the end of their course. “The CFAR teams have helped me, whether with the helping hand or by traveling to my farm to help and guide me. It’s a real support to be able to continue to ask them questions and benefit from their advice after I finish my studies.”

If Clément concentrates today on broiler breeding, his objective remains the breeding of pigs.

“The profit I earn from raising chickens I keep a little over time to invest in particular in the building of pigs and really start my breeding. Pig farming is still a big investment, it’s very expensive so you have to anticipate it and plan for it over several years, but I’ll get there, it’s really my goal.”

Like Clément, the young people of the second promotion of the Savanes CFAR in the north of Ivory Coast presented their professional agricultural project this week and will then be able to embark on the creation of their own farm.