The Agricultural Vocational Support and Training Center (CAFPA) in Antsirabe (Madagascar) organized a week dedicated to the environment from January 10 to 14, as part of its partnership with the OCP Foundation.
The event, which takes place within the framework of the CAFPA support project in Antsirabe, aimed to strengthen the technical capacities of the beneficiary executives and to raise their awareness around themes related to the management and preservation of local biodiversity.
A press release from the OCP Foundation specifies in this regard that the two partners have relied on the expertise of UM6P and FOFIFA for the realization of the various activities included in the framework of this event.
The training sessions organized as well as the various practical works carried out in the field also made it possible to highlight the importance of the management of natural resources, the fight against desertification, as well as innovative agricultural practices.
Several theoretical and practical training sessions, both face-to-face and remotely, were provided to 60 learners from the Antsirabe center, 32 trainers from the seven CAFPA centers and senior researchers from the National Center for Applied Research in Development Rural (FOFIFA), further indicates the Foundation.
And to emphasize that they focused on important themes such as the Application of Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR) to restore degraded land, or even reforestation and the regeneration of biodiversity.
“The trainings organized during this week made it possible to acquire new knowledge, in particular with regard to the production of young plants in the nursery”, in this sense put forward Ramanitrandrasana Harena Fiononantsoa, of CAFPA Antsirabe.
For her, “in addition to contributing to the improvement of the environment, this is an activity that could well be a source of income… We need to produce and exploit to live, but it is essential to preserve our environment, to worry about the future of future generations. Let’s reforest to regenerate our biodiversity”.
For his part, Randrianalty Tsiry Nambinintsoa, trainer at CAFPA Antsirabe, noted that at the end of the 5 days of training, “we have acquired nursery techniques to produce young seedlings of forest and fruit trees to regenerate biodiversity thanks to reforestation. Aware of the degradation of the environment, we believe that by continuing this action on a large scale, Madagascar will once again become a green island”.
This initiative, which will be duplicated at the level of two other CAFPA centres, is perfectly in line with sustainable development objectives such as the fight against climate change, the preservation of biodiversity and even sustainable partnerships for development.
The partnership between the OCP Foundation and CAFPA aims to develop and modernize the training provided within CAFPA through the capacity building of trainers and learners and the provision of teaching resources, while upgrading the infrastructure and equipment of the center, recalls the Foundation.
The project will also have provided the center with a library as well as an online training room with all the computer and technological equipment essential for holding technical training, in addition to small tools and livestock equipment. for practical work, the statement said.
On the strength of these successful experiences, the partners aim to develop a new project aimed at contributing to inclusive community development centered on the preservation of local biodiversity and the empowerment of local actors.
.