Building the capacity of the people of Buzi-Bulenga in new agroforestry techniques and the preservation of natural ecosystems
Despite the potential of the Buzi-Bulenga grouping in Kalehe territory, South Kivu province, its inhabitants’ living conditions remain precarious, dominated by a volatile security situation, a degrading environment, unhealthy politics and an unbalanced economy. This condemns them to a life of hardship and also endangers the environmental heritage described above.
Hence: “The living conditions of poor populations depend fundamentally on the state of the environment. Yet poverty has in turn become a cause of environmental degradation, creating a vicious circle in which poverty and environmental degradation reinforce each other.” Moreover, “in the grouping, subsistence farming, which accounts for about 90% of agricultural production and occupies most of the population, is mainly shifting, slash-and-burn agriculture. Declining soil fertility has therefore had major local impacts on the incomes of the rural poor and on people’s nutrition.” (DRC Ministry of Agriculture).
This programme also aims to support agricultural and veterinary (vocational) secondary schools with capacity building and the inputs needed to properly train future agricultural extension workers, who will promote new agroforestry techniques in local communities.
