Presentation of the project Microcredit livestock by the head of the CREDI-Vo office
The Center for Action Research for the Environment and Integrated Development (CREDI) launched on Wednesday 13 January 2016 in the large conference room of the Social Action Center of Vogan a new project called “microcredit livestock” of a duration of two years. The ceremony was opened by the welcome speech of the Executive Director of CREDI, Mr Lucas AGBANAGLO.
The ceremony was presided over by Mr LEGUEDE Kokou, Prefect of Vo, who launched the new project with a speech. A fifty of breeders from the prefectures of Vo and Avé also attended the ceremony.
Togo is a territory that is cultivated to 25% of the available land and whose agriculture largely ensures the food security of the inhabitants. Livestock production is declining or rather stagnant in Togo as well as in other countries of the subregion, causing a real problem in terms of meat supply and food security.
It is therefore important to promote livestock farming in order to increase the availability of meat products, which will improve the living conditions of the populations. One situation shows a lack of training and popularization of new breeding techniques, with about 99% of existing breeders practicing traditional breeding and about 16% administering veterinary care and only 18% vaccinating their animals. It is therefore necessary to improve Togolese breeding.
For the last fifteen years, CREDI has been working in the Maritime and Plateau regions of Togo to improve the traditional livestock breeding through veterinary care (vaccination of poultry and small ruminants), consulting support, placing in close proximity to veterinary products.
CREDI therefore initiated, with the financial support of ZEBUNET, an action of granting microcredit to the breeders to better accompany them.
ZEBUNET is a French association whose concept of microcredit has already proved its worth in several developing countries like Madagascar, Vietnam and Burkina Faso where the association intervenes.
The microcredit farming initiated by CREDI in the prefectures of Vo and de l’Avé aims to “increase the margin of profit of the accompanied breeders by promoting the small family breeding of pig, goat, sheep and poultry all In making profitable the farms of breeding of the families “. This project consists of granting to the small livestock breeders micro-credits that will be refunded within two (02) years.
The credit granted is divided into two parts: 1- A first part of the credit must allow each breeder to acquire animals (male and female), to obtain feed for the animals for a period of six (6) months and Improve their shelter and livestock environment. 2-A second part of the loan will be used for veterinary care and maintenance of animals.
Some fifty breeders from the Vo and Avé prefectures will benefit from this microcredit support operation, which is in its first year of implementation in the above-mentioned localities.
CREDI will accompany the breeders by giving them technical support. It will also follow-up periodically the evolution of the activities throughout the project in order to check the respect of the good practices of breeding in order to obtain the expected results.
The beneficiaries of the prefecture of Avé and Vo have appreciated the launching ceremony of the project and expressed their gratitude for the implementation of the new project in these terms:
“CREDI has been accompanying us for several years by vaccinating our animals (chickens, goats, sheep), providing us with veterinary care and giving us advice for their maintenance.
We know that this new project will give us more support because we will be able, thanks to the credits granted, to increase the number of our animals and to practice our breeding otherwise “.
