The Poultry Farm for Young Women project targeted 40 women, aged 17 to 30, who would otherwise lack the means to provide for themselves and their children. This project trained and assisted these women on the sustainable establishment of a poultry farm.
The six-month project was established in Tubah Subdivision, Cameroon.
According to a recent United Nations report, approximately 80% of women in communities in Tubah depend solely on farming and agriculture for survival, despite environmental degradation making this an unstable source of income1. This crisis is occurring against the backdrop of a rise of Boko Haram terrorist attacks and a secessionist insurgency in Anglophone regions of Cameroon like Tubah, which has displaced more than 500,000 people internally2.
Like the rest of the world, Cameroon has also had to grapple with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our project focused on women and children as they are disproportionately affected by these crises. Although 39% of the national population of Cameroon lives below the poverty line, 51% of women live in poverty and 79% percent of women are underemployed. Furthermore, studies have shown that children of single mothers in Cameroon are much more likely to suffer extreme malnutrition, and their risk of under-5 mortality is substantially increased. Our poultry farm will improve the stability and income of these women and their children, as well as improve their nutritional levels and health outcomes.
A member of the local Tubah community has generously donated the land and a small poultry house for the project. YOCOFOBA collaborated with the Chief of Post from the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries, and Animal Husbandry, along with the Women Empowerment Center in Tubah, to mobilize the local community and selected the beneficiaries of the project.
After the two days training workshop, each participant received 10 three-week-old baby chicks, basic vitamins and medications to ensure the chickens’ health, and a bag of chicken feed with the provision that the chickens will reproduce. The reproduced chicks will then be shared with the poultry farm to create a revolving fund and help sustain the program and allow more vulnerable members of the community to be given this opportunity. This will also help to ameliorate participants’ income and nutritional levels.
The participants agreed to sharing their experiences, success stories and receiving guidance and advice from our volunteer experts.
Specific Objectives of the Project
- To train 40 young women in sustainable poultry farming practices.
- To provide a source of food and income security to 40 women and their families.
- To reduce the vulnerability of 40 young women through economic development and empowerment.
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