Côte d'Ivoire/ A local development plan for the village of Petit-Yapo validated

A local development plan for the village of Petit-Yapo (14 km from Agboville), taking into account the sustainable management of the environment and agriculture, was validated on Saturday, March 25, 2023, by acclamation, within the framework of the project Promoting deforestation-free cocoa production to reduce emissions in Côte d'Ivoire (PROMIRE).

"We are making a 10-year local development plan for the village, which is sensitive to the sustainable management of natural resources, the environment and agriculture. This plan traces the problems in each sector such as education, health, water, roads, environment and agriculture, in order to develop all these sectors. There are also development projects planned to restore the forest in the village of Petit-Yapo," said Expert Meledj Toussaint of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), who is in charge of the project.

Mr. Méledj said that a development committee will be established after this validation and will be formed to address requests for technical and financial support from technical partners. He stressed that the regional council is the main beneficiary of this development plan which will accompany the populations in its realization.

"This local development plan, which presents their needs for the development of the village, was developed in a participatory manner with the people. The FAO will accompany the implementation of this plan especially in the environment and agriculture as well as other technical partners for the other sectors," he said.

Meledj Toussaint invited producers to engage in agroforestry, in forest restoration to create a micro climate that will be conducive to sustainable production of cocoa, rubber and other crops. He also announced training and awareness sessions for the latter to preserve their plantations.

The sub-prefect of Agboville, Adjé Séraphine Adjo, urged the population to appropriate this local development plan, while expressing his availability to accompany them. "Today, we have our compass to work. We should all get to work to achieve this plan so that Petit-Yapo is one of the most beautiful villages of the sub-prefecture of Agboville. Think of the development of Petit-Yapo. I care about the cohesion of Petit-Yapo," said Ms. Adjé.

Within the framework of the PROMIRE project, 15 local development plans for villages (near classified forests), distributed in the regions of La Mé, Sud-Comoé and Agneby-Tiassa are planned. In the Agneby-Tiassa region, six villages have so far benefited from this project in the first phase.

The POMIRE project contributes to the achievement of the objectives of the Ivorian government, which wants to restore 20% of its forest cover by 2030, through the end of the project.The POMIRE project contributes to the achievement of the Ivorian government's objective of restoring 20% of its forest cover by 2030, through the finalization and operationalization of the REDD+ architecture and the realization of a sustainable agriculture model (agroforestry).

The POMIRE project is financed by the Green Climate Fund to the tune of five million U.S. dollars (or a little over 2.5 billion FCFA).

Source: www.aip.ci/