Togo
Background
With 8 million inhabitants and a surface area of 56,785 square kilometers, Togo is one of Africa’s most densely populated countries. The gross domestic product per capita amounts to 679 US dollars.
Agriculture constitutes 40% of the Togolese GDP, and about two third of the population work in this sector. The country regularly faces floods and drought, which have serious consequences for the both the people and the livestock: degradation of the soil, animal losses, decreases in yields, and rising rural exodus.
Forest degradation is another major concern: it is an additional threat to biodiversity and food security. In 2004, the Togolese government listed the Abdoulaye forest as a nature conservation area. As a result, the communities that had lived there had to start finding alternative sources of income and thus an alternative way of life, as they had previously been used to hunt their daily food in that very forest.
VSF-Suisse was asked to support the people in bringing environmental protection in line with alternative, sustainable livelihoods. Ever since, we have been training auxiliary veterinarians, have distributed healthy livestock to families in need, and have launched various training sessions and campaigns to raise awareness on environmental protection.
Key activities
- Training of beekeepers and shea processors through CEPs (“Champs école des producteurs pour les petits éleveurs”)
- Consumer awareness-raising (in markets, fairs, restaurants, by telephone and door-to-door) on good practices adopted by professionals and informal actors in the meat value chain
- Training and certification for actors in the informal meat sector
- Establishment of community milk processing units
- Training of women wagashi processors and traders in business development and finance
Impressions of a vaccination campaign against Peste des petits ruminants PPR
Facts
On the ground since: 2002
Number of current projects: 4
Number of staff: 5
Offices: Country Office in Lomé
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA, supports programmes in this country.
Current projects
Reference projects
News
Modern beekeeping: promising opportunities for beekeepers in Togo
Mr. Akowe Loukou lives in Bago (Tchamba) in the Central Region of Togo, where he has been involved in farming and trading since his youth. Aged 38 and a father of three children, he lives mainly from the production of maize, soy, and cashews. Five years ago, having...
The Farmer Field School approach, implemented by the beekeepers of Goubi in Togo
September 2023 - The cooperative Ognidon of the canton of Goubi includes about 20 beekeepers, among them one woman. As part of the implementation of their activities, they are accompanied by our MiKaGo project, especially in the improvement of beekeeping practices....
Meet Constantin Assi from our Togo country office!
Who are you and where are you from? My name is Constantin Assi, I am 40 years old and I come from Togo. What is your learned or studied profession? I am a manager/accountant with an education in project management. What year did you start working at VSF-Suisse? I...