In many developing countries more than half of young people do not have a job or are underemployment. Not using the capabilities of young people hampers economic growth and may lead to social instability. Meaningful employment for young people is essential to achieve sustainable economic development; however they often lack relevant market skills or are not provided meaningful opportunities. Experience shows that providing education and training is not sufficient to reach meaningful employment. Many trained young people don’t have skills relevant in the jobs market or are perceived as lacking in motivation.This project is specifically designed for creation of employment opportunity and generating income source through Skill Development Training programme. If you are non government organisation and want to work for the youth unemployment this project is for you.
Project Context
More than 70% of youths have no jobs and this undesirable situation is severe in the urban areas (IYF 2013). The DR Congo like several other African countries has no comprehensive policy to address youth unemployment. In the South-Kivu Province, youth unemployment has been associated with the consumption of illegal drugs, early pregnancy, crime and violence. The rapid increase in the population of unemployed youth has been described as a time bomb. Decades of civil war in Eastern DRC did not help matters as it encouraged rural-urban migrations which have left many youths in the street in search of remunerative jobs which are not available. There have been limited unsuccessful government interventions to create job opportunities for the teeming in youth population. For example, in 1978 the government jointly with USAID and the xxxxxxx initiated the Fish Farming Project in xxxxxxx to address household nutrition deficiency as well as increase job opportunities for youth. Operationalized in xxxx, the project gradually became redundant and virtually abandoned. Similarly, the agricultural sector did not receive adequate attention, thereby affecting the livelihoods of a large population of women who constitute the workforce as well as the food and nutrition security of the household. One of the consequences of this ugly situation is the unattractiveness of the agricultural sector to the youths as a means of livelihoods. To address these issues, xxxxxx has signed anxxxxxx with the South Kivu provincial government to reactivate the 40 ponds through the engagement of youth Agripreneurs in fish pond management as a means of addressing youth unemployment and empowering vulnerable women.
Project Goals
To promote income generating opportunities through commercial aquaculture for the youths and vulnerable women and for improving household’s nutritional security.
Project Objectives:
- To create income generating opportunities through aquaculture for the youth to be able to earn income up to $xxxx/month
- To enhance the income of vulnerable women in South Kivu’s province up to$xxxxxper month through active participation in fish/crop/livestock value chain.
- To improve the nutritional status of households through consumption of fish and fish products.
- To provide opportunity for learning and understanding of fish-crop-livestock integration.
Project Implementation Approach:
These objectives will be achieved through the Youth Agripreneurs’ initiative nurtured by XXXXX, and through mobilization and organization of vulnerable women into agri-business groups for distribution and marketing of fish and fish-based products.
Systematically identified enterprising youths will be upskilled in fish pond management, fish processing, business plan development, agri-business enterprise management, group action, as well as incentivized to engage in aquaculture business. In addition, vulnerable women will be mobilized and organized into agri-business groups and trained in fish selling, fish preservation including smoking, feed production and selling, etc. The project will also use the fora of youth and vulnerable women to create awareness for regular consumption of fish and fish based products to improve household dietary diversity and nutritional status.
This project will have 3 Phases:
Phase 1 will be about consolidating XXXXX’s learning of aquaculture enterprise. The process of gaining knowledge, skills and hands-‐on experience in fish pond enterprise will be based on reactivation of 20 ponds at xxxxxstation. Attention will be focused on enhancing the knowledge and skills of Youth Agripreneurs (at least 30 agribusiness builders), building on their limited fish pond management experience gained at in xxxxCenter. During this Phase that is made up of two production cycles, attention will also be focused on commercial fish stock management and production, piloting of feed and fingerlings production and marketing. In the second cycle of this phase, a commercial hatchery will be installed to provide fingerlings for its ponds and for the independent ponds that will be established by the youth agripreneurs. In addition, initial activities will also commence on identification and basic training of enterprising youth groups in collaboration with XXXXX Youth in Agriculture project. Similarly, preliminary activities will also start on identification of enterprising vulnerable women from among those discharged at xxxxxxx. The women will be organized into and trained through business groups as fish value chain actors. This activity will be pursued in collaboration with xxxxxxx Women in Agriculture project. See below specific activities and expected outputs under this Phase.
Expected outputs:
- At least 30 youth agripreneurs trained in aquaculture
- At least 20 ponds established.
- At least 48 tons of fish produced and sold.
- Fingerlings and fish feed production tested
- Marketing channels identified
- At least 200 enterprising youths identified and mobilized
- At least 100 vulnerable women selected and mobilized into at least 5 business groups.
- Performance report produced quarterly basis and end of phase one evaluation conducted.
- At least one poultry, piggery and rabbit hutches constructed.
Phase 2 will be focused on consolidation of xxxx’s commercial fish production and marketing venture through operationalization of up to 60 new ponds within xxxxxx for a total of 80 commercial fish ponds. Attention will also be focused on facilitating the establishment and management of commercial fish enterprises by trained youth Agripreneurs as well as assisting the vulnerable women business groups to function as intermediaries (distributors and fish sellers). Capacity building will include hands-‐on training in mini commercial fish pond construction and management, marketing, feed production, fingerlings multiplication, fish processing and preservation, business plan development, business record keeping, sustainable fish pond management practices, etc,
In addition, during this phase the project will also use the fora of youth and vulnerable women to create awareness for and promote regular consumption of fish and fish based products to improve household dietary diversity and nutritional status.
Also, during this phase, the fish pond initiative will be linked to relevant XXXXX projects to explore the integration of fish ponds with crop livestock production. The project will seek collaborative studies with XXXXX projects, drawing on the experiences and practices observed at xxxxxx, Rwanda to explore use of poultry and pig wastes to fertilize fish ponds and the use of used fish pond water as liquid fertilizer for food crops. See below specific activities planned on 2 years though the project will take 4 years and expected outputs under this Phase.
Expected Outputs:
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- At least 80 commercial fish ponds operationalized
- At least 312 tons of fish produced and sold.
- Youths and women commercial fish enterprises facilitated and established
- At least 12 awareness’ creation campaigns carried out
- At least 200 youth trained in mini commercial fish pond construction and management, marketing, feed production, fingerlings multiplication, fish processing and preservation, business plan development, business record keeping and sustainable fish pond management practices.
- At least 100 vulnerable women trained in marketing, business plan development, business record keeping, processing and preservation.
- At least 2 stakeholder’s advocacy workshops organized.
- Fingerlings and fish feed production operationalized
- Knowledge on the integration of fish ponds with crop livestock production generated.
- Performance reports produced quarterly basis and end of phase 2 evaluation conducted.
Phase 3 will be about achieving scale and promoting widely fish ponds business among youth Agripreneurs, vulnerable women groups as well as other interested groups. Additionally, mobilizing public and private sector support for the development and growth of the fish industry, powered by the youth Agripreneurs and the women will be pursued in the course of Phase 3.
Evaluate Impact, Document and Disseminate Lessons Learned
The project will develop a robust participatory M&E framework to be used to track project performance during the Phase 1 as well as track the performance of youth Agripreneurs and vulnerable women who are engaged in fish enterprises. The M&E framework will include baselines and identification of a core set of minimum indicators along multiple pathways and outcomes and that can be feasibly monitored on the ground. The project will use workshops and platforms with multiple stakeholders, including actors along the fish value chain as well as policy makers, to disseminate the knowledge learned and to present and discuss scaling up strategies and possible policy or market reform recommendations.
Target Beneficiaries
About 200 youths and 100 vulnerable women will be targeted for business and technical support during Phases 1& 2. It is expected that 500 people (i.e, 200 youths who may be employed by the enterprising youth Agripreneurs and additional 100 people who will be engaged by the vulnerable women business groups) will benefit indirectly from the project. The 100 vulnerable women will be purposively selected from the victims of sexually abused women who have undergone both physical and psychological treatment at xxxxxx and are currently eking out a living in the suburbs of xxxxx primarily because they have no land to return to.
The XXXXX-xxxxxxxx
The XXXXX – xxxxxxx is a group of young graduates involved in Agribusiness with the aim of serving as a model to other young people and becometrainers of trainers. The group which was established in July 2013, currently has a membership strengthen of 30 Youth Agripreneurs, aged between 25-32 years old from different backgrounds. The activities of the group cut across the value-chains of different crops including cassava, maize, beans, and soybean production, agro processing including soybean and cassava based food products and agro services provision.
These activities are supported by cross-cutting activities such as partnerships development, projects development/proposals writing and networking to mobilize and empower youths.
Significance and Justification
Fish is a popular source of protein in many parts of East Africa. In addition, fish farming has flourished in many African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, etc. Fish pond farming practiced also in semi-urban areas is quick yielding, and attractive to the youth, if well managed. In South Kivu, especially in xxxxx, demand falls below supply which is largely dominated by imported fish from Uganda and China. The project will work towards building a local fish industry while at the same creating income generating opportunities for the youth and women who play active roles in marketing and distribution network.
Market
There is rapid population growth both in urban, peri-urban and rural areas of South-Kivu. It is estimated that over the 1105 tons is demanded per year by the populace, with only 84 tons produced in the region. This leads to large importation of fish and fish products with attendant health challenges. The imported fish usually exposes consumers to health hazards since they are preserved using chemicals, and are most of the time obsolete and tasteless.
xxxxx seeks to engage in fish farming with a view creating job opportunities for teeming population and vulnerable women, contribute to increasing local production of fish to meet the high demand for fish and fish based products. It will also seek to promote enhanced household food nutrition. Through an XXXXX-sponsored market assessment survey, XXXXX will be equipped with market information that will inform its business plan development around fish pond management, fish marketing, finger and feed production.
Expected Long Term Outcomes
The Unlocking Job opportunities for Youths and Women in South-Kivu/DR Congo through aquaculture project recognizes that engaging youths and women in Aquaculture and agribusiness is a key to break through the unemployment and poverty among the youths and women in the South-Kivu’s province. The outputs of this project therefore are expected to contribute to the following development outcomes:
- Reduced poverty level.
- Improved safety and security as a result of reduced cases of crime associated with youth.
- Increased revenue for the government from taxes and fees.
- Improved households’ health security.
- Vibrant fish industry.
Ability to Execute
Through its mini tilapia fish pond project in xxxx, has acquired knowledge and experience in fish farming, processing preservation and marketing. XXXXX will build on this exposure to consolidate its knowledge and skill in fish pond management. Besides, the fish pond will be managed 4 XXXXX members who are currently undergoing training at XXXXX Ibadan with the XXXXX Youth Agripreneurs who have stablished a very successful and profitable fish industry.
The project will be supported by xxxxx scientists and support staff including the Stakeholder Engagement Advisor. In addition, XXXXX will also benefit from its partnership with xxxxx through xxxxx (Service National aquaculture). ABC has more than 40 years’ experience in fish farming, especially in fingerlings multiplication, ponds management and extension activities. The Provincial government of South Kivu is favorably disposed to facilitating importation of fish stocks/fingerlings as well as put in place measures to promote local fish industry.
