Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Kader Maiga
Published on 2024-03-25 09:59:18
Sikasso, March 25 (AMAP)The official launch ceremony of the 2nd project for professional training, integration, and support for rural youth entrepreneurship (FIER II) was presided over on Friday in Sikasso by the Minister of State, Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Government spokesperson, Col Abdoulaye Maïga, together with his counterpart from the National Entrepreneurship, Employment and Vocational Training Department, Bagayogo Aminata D. Traoré, as observed by AMAP.
The event was attended by local and regional authorities from Sikasso, Bougouni, Koutiala, Ségou, Koulikoro, and Kayes, as well as representatives from the CNT and national federations of rural women’s and youth organizations.
Several speeches marked the launch ceremony, including welcome speeches from municipal authorities, thank-you speeches from the Federation of Rural Youth and the president of the National Federation of Rural Women.
The representative of IFAD, Oumarou Mazou, expressed his satisfaction at participating in this launch, which marks the beginning of an exciting journey towards acquiring skills and personal development, and professional transformation among rural youth in agricultural professions.
The Minister in charge of Entrepreneurship emphasized the importance of this project, which had a successful first phase. She mentioned that it was because of this success that the Government of Mali initiated this 2nd project with support from partners like IFAD. She encouraged rural youth to make the most of this project.
The Minister of State, representing the sponsor of the event, the President of the Transition, thanked the population for their great mobilization.
He particularly thanked the authorities from other regions for attending the launch of this very important project for rural communities.
The Minister also highlighted the concrete actions taken by the Transition authorities to improve the living conditions of the population. He recalled the three guiding principles of public action in Mali, which revolve around the three Ds (Defense, Diplomacy, and Development). He emphasized the important role of the agricultural sector in the country’s development, contributing over 36% and employing around 80% of the active population.
According to information from the organizers, this 2nd project for professional training, integration, and support for rural youth entrepreneurship (FIER II) was initiated by the Malian government with technical and financial support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to promote entrepreneurship in rural areas and facilitate the economic integration of young people in agricultural value chains and non-agricultural professions.
With a cost of 59.5 billion CFA francs, this project targets rural youth, both men and women aged 15 to 40. Ultimately, 60,000 rural youth will benefit from professional training or economic integration in promising sectors.
The project will cover all regions of Mali, but initially, it will focus on the regions of Koulikoro, Sikasso, Kayes, and Ségou, with 12 selected Circles in concentration areas. The expansion zones will be made up of production areas in the regions of Mopti, Gao, Timbuktu, and Kidal.
The ceremony was colorful, with moving testimonies from some young beneficiaries of the FIER project and a musical interlude with the balafon of Nèba Solo under a light rain.
The visit to the exhibition stands showcasing products from some young beneficiaries concluded the launch ceremony of the FIER II project at the municipal stadium in Sikasso.
FD/KM (AMAP)
Read the original article(French) on AMAP
