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

1. To train 40 young women in sustainable poultry farming practices.

2. To provide a source of food and income security to 40 women and their families.

3. To reduce the vulnerability of 40 young women through economic development and empowerment.

Photo Gallery

Within the context of the project styled “Strengthening rural women’s livelihood for a sustainable economic development in the production of maize in Kedjom Keku”, sponsored with seed funds from The Pollinations Project, YOCOFOBA Cameroon had a two days training workshop with rural maize producers in Kedjom Keku.

Date: Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th July 2020

Some 40 women from the KOFACIG farmers group Kedjom Keku were trilled on sustainable techniques of maize production, marketing and basic record keeping. The training had 3 principal components basically on the techniques of maize production, marketing and record keeping. At the close of the training, each participant was supported with 4Kg of improve (Acid Tolerant Population) ATP maize seed and 112Kg of organic fertilizer (2 bags of manure) for the production of maize in a total surface area of 8Ha of land.

The training on effective maize production was facilitated by a senior agricultural technician, Mrs Atim Linda. This training took place at the KOFACIG meetinghouse in Kedjom Keku and supervision was by a staff of the Sub Divisional Delegation of Agriculture and Rural Development (SDDARD) Tubah, a project partner.

The first two project objectives have thus far been realized and they include:

• Train 40 rural women from KOFACIG on improved sustainable agricultural practices in maize production by March 2019,
• Provide 160Kg of improve ATP maize seed and 4,500Kg organic fertilizer to 40 rural women of the KOFACIG in March 2019,

YOCOFOBA Cameroon due to the exigencies of the times resorted to local resource mobilization to additionally train on COVID-19 and shared preventive kids. The Honorable Member of Parliament for Bafut/Tubah constituency; Agho Oliver supported the program with material to fight covid-19. To this end, participants at the work shop were trained on preventive measures of covid-19 by Chantal Akumbom and each participant received 2 face masks and ½ litre of locally produced hand sanitizer.

Field follow-up visits to ensure proper production techniques of maize during the second farming season were executed by MBIFI Valentine MBIFI; YOCOFOBA’s President. He succeeded to visit 11 farms around the Kooh community of Kedjom Keku. The germination rate of the farm stood at over 94%. This project activity was reported live on VISION4, a private TV station in Cameroon and “Camraisenews” a logal blog.

The video version of the project is on youtube on the follwing address:

Several HIV/AIDS sensitization and voluntary screening campaign around Tubah by YOCOFOBA have been carried out in partnership with Mbingo Baptist Hospital. This helps the youths to understand the meaning of HIV/AIDS, the various modes of transmission, prevention methods, know their HIV/AIDS health status and how to live positively if one is already infected.

In 2010, a Water Catchment Project for the Koh Quarter of KedjomKeku Village by YOCOFOBA was realized and sponsored by the embassy of the USA in Yaounde. The community had no reliable water source and drank from running streams, far-off springs and rain water sources. Thanks to the project, the villagers have a reliable supply of pipe borne water.

In October 2010, Anike Foundation USA made the first shipment of laptops, flat-panel monitors, whiteboards, and cabinets to YOCOFOBA. YOCOFOBA’s office now has one laptop with internet access, whereas previously we would have had to seek an available computer in the local area. The President of the organization, says, We are happy Anike Foundation is helping to link us with the outside world through their educational materials.”

This project aims to support the livelihoods of 15 members of the Big Babanki community through building their capacity in modern beekeeping practices. The project selected 15 committed members of the community, trained them in apiculture and equips them with the necessary materials for opening their own advanced apiary. This project was funded by Anike Foundation USA. Trainings were led by YOCOFOBA’s president, MBIFI Valentine MBIFI and a Community Agribusiness Peace Corps Volunteer, who has participated in a US Peace Corps training of trainers on the topic of beekeeping.

Since 2015, during summer holidays, YOCOFOBA has been organizing a Female Competitive Champions League with the aim of exposing the female sex to realizing their talent and sensitizing them on environmental conservation. The project is a sporting tournament which permitted the participants to plant over 1000 trees around water catchment environs of the municipality each summer. The project has been proudly sponsored by the Member of Parliament for the Bafut-Tubah municipality, Hon. Fusi Naamukong.