Project Type
YouthFacts & Figures
REGIONS IN CÔTE D’IVOIRE
5 communities across the regions of Marahoué, Nawa, San-Pédro, and Gboklè
TIMELINE
January 2019–June 2020
TARGET
Youth aged 16 to 30
FACILITATORS/ENABLERS/TRAINERS
- OUTSPAN
- GIZ partners
- CNFA agents
DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
Training sessions at community levels
KEY OUTCOMES
- 315 youth trained
- 330 units of modern farm equipment provided
- 4,028 hours of training provided
PARTNERS
About the project
Targeting young people in cocoa communities of Côte d’Ivoire, the Youth Technical Service Units project has been set up to provide training and professional integration to of out-of-school youth. Members receive trainings on entrepreneurship and management as well as agricultural techniques, especially those related to cocoa.
Challenge
Rural youth face many challenges, including a low level of education, a lack of self-confidence due to school failures, and the perception of being forced into agriculture as the sole recourse available for survival. These youth also lack vocational training opportunities for young people, especially in agriculture, and opportunities for socio-economic integration in their communities.
Solution
Young people can only have a positive attitude toward agriculture by acquiring the basic skills needed to develop their own mini-businesses in the cocoa value chain, and more broadly in the agricultural sector. This approach offers young people in rural areas new opportunities for professional integration through vocational training. Encouraging entrepreneurship, valuing agricultural jobs in remote rural areas, developing business links with cooperatives and the private sector, and developing the use of new agricultural technologies will in turn improve young people’s self-esteem, attitudes toward agriculture, and entrepreneurial skills.
Results to date
A total of 315 young people across 5 communities in the departments of Bouaflé, Soubré, Méagui, San-Pédro, and Sassandra have been trained in financial education, life skills, entrepreneurship, and good agricultural practices. Youth Technical Service Units were provided with modern work tools such as motorized augers, tricycles, atomizers, motorized pruners, and small farm equipment. Ultimately, the project participants will receive support to set up mini-businesses and define business plans, enabling them to conduct their activities sustainably.
