Evamé Afi Apla: The bold choice of a woman who left the office to embrace the land

Gbatopé, Togo - In the canton of Gbatopé, at the heart of the Zio prefecture in Togo’s Maritime region, a profound transformation is taking place, quietly, far from the spotlight. A gentle revolution is unfolding, led by a woman whose journey defies expectations: Apla Afi Evamé.

Nothing predestined this brilliant young graduate to agriculture. Holding a bachelor’s degree in human resources management and a Master’s degree in Marketing and International Trade, where she graduated top of her class, she was preparing for a conventional administrative career. She sat for several civil service exams and worked in two private companies. Her path seemed straightforward: an office, files, and a predictable professional trajectory.

But in 2019, life took an unexpected turn. Her father, former Director of Forest Resources at the Ministry of Environment, retired. A man accustomed to responsibility and fieldwork, he struggled with the sudden stillness that followed. Watching him fade away was something his daughter could not accept. Out of loyalty, affection, and entrepreneurial instinct, she made a radical decision: she left everything behind. She turned away from her office career, returned to her village, and chose to support her father in a venture she had never imagined, building an ambitious agricultural project.

“I had no passion for agriculture. I wanted an office job. But I realized that the future could also be built here,” she says today.

From this bold choice emerged the Mawouena Research and Production Center, “Mawouena” meaning God-given in Mina, the most widely spoken language in southern Togo. The name is a tribute to her father, whose own name, Dieudonné, means the same. Very soon, the initiative grew beyond a simple farm. The center developed a holistic vision: food crops, livestock, market gardening, and more recently, beekeeping. What began as a career shift became a true rural economic model.

At the same time, Evamé took over the leadership of the Las Beguinas Duményo Lumen (LBDL) cooperative, created a few years earlier to support women palm oil processors. When she arrived in 2019, the cooperative was struggling, poorly structured, lacking strategy and momentum. She brought energy and method, but the turning point came with external support.

In 2023, new momentum emerged: the cooperative received support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF). In just two years, the transformation has been remarkable: forty‑four modern beehives established across four villages, twelve hectares reforested, a permanent nursery created, a storage facility under construction meeting sanitary standards, and a viable honey sector now selling at 4,500 FCFA per liter.  “We were walking. FAO helped us run,” she says simply.

Today, the cooperative brings together seventy‑nine members and drives a vibrant network in the villages of Labavi, Ezor, Gbatopé and Kôdjo. What was once a small group has become a powerful social and economic engine.

But the impact of this venture goes far beyond agricultural production. As she evolves, Evamé has become a key figure in Togo’s rural renewal. She serves as the secretary general of the Network of Young Agricultural Producers and Professionals of Togo for the Maritime region. She joined the AWARD program, funded by the German Development Agency (GIZ), strengthening her leadership and exposing her to a pan‑African community of women scientists and entrepreneurs. She travels, learns, and represents her community’s interests.

In 2025, her name reached a symbolic milestone. In July, she received the UNFPA African Award for Rural Women Entrepreneurs at the International Women’s Entrepreneurship Fair. In November, she won the National Award for the Promotion of Women in Green Entrepreneurship (TROFEDEV). She has become a face, a voice, and a model.

Through her leadership, mindsets are shifting. Young women are rediscovering agriculture as a sector of opportunity. Community groups are strengthening. Financial transparency has become a guiding principle. “Donor money is not a gift to squander. It is a responsibility,” she reminds them firmly.

Today, in Kôdjo, agriculture is no longer synonymous with survival. It is a structured venture, an economic model, and a school of women's leadership. Locally produced soap, honey from modernized beekeeping, and thriving forest seedlings from the nursery all point toward a clear ambition, conquering national markets first, then regional and international ones.

And beneath this ambition lies a simple truth: investing in rural women means investing in food security, community stability, healthy ecosystems, and territorial prosperity.

In Gbatopé, the seed Apla Afi Evamé planted in 2019 continues to grow. And what is emerging today already looks like a forest.