The Agroecology Value Chain Production System Project under the Department of Agriculture (DoA), in partnership with the Department of Community Development, has kick-started a three-day training workshop on Participatory Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (PVCA) at Wellingara Model Horticulture Center.
The training, which commenced today, was conducted to build participants’ understanding of PVCA concepts and methodologies, enhance skills in facilitating community engagement and conducting vulnerability assessments, and develop practical action plans for reducing vulnerabilities and enhancing resilience.
The 37 participants engaged in the training were drawn from West Coast Regional Agriculture Directorate, Urban Agriculture Directorate, Department of Community Development and farmers from West Coast Region.
The Agroecology Value Chain Production System is a project funded by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with the main objective of contributing to job creation, improving food, income and nutrition security, and facilitating gender empowerment through adoption of agro-ecology value chain production system to mitigate environmental and forest degradation, and urban-rural and irregular migration.
ECOWAS, which had been active in resolving conflicts, is now diversifying its approach to addressing conflicts by addressing the root causes of conflicts through funding projects that will address environmental problems and food insecurity, said the Director of Administration and also Project Coordinator for the Agroecology Value Chain Project, Ebou Edmond Mendy.
In his opening remarks, Mr Mendy said the training was part of the last activities of the project, after the implementation of numerous activities in the past months.
The training would provide an avenue for the exchange of knowledge and ideas with a view to strengthening the problem-solving skills of farmers and extension workers, said Mariama Jobarteh, a resource parson from the Department of Community Development.
For her part, Haddy Bah, a Principal Agriculture Officer representing the Regional Agriculture Director for West Coast Region, intimated that the training would also tackle problems associated with diagnosis as it would improve skills. “The training will help extension workers and farmers to take preventive measures against problems,” she added.
