The Dimitra Clubs’ approach is used in many FAO projects for a variety of reasons, of which two stand out: on the one hand, the clubs are powerful means of supporting effective project implementation through community mobilization and social cohesion, and on the other hand, they lead to concrete results in terms of community empowerment, participation and leadership of women/young girls, as well as gender equality.

In the Niger and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Dimitra Clubs are successfully utilized in several FAO and United Nations joint initiatives. Recently, Dimitra Clubs decided to take the lead regarding the transfer of knowledge on the production of compost in the framework of a project implemented by FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) in the regions of Maradi and Zinder in the Niger. This project aims to strengthen the resilience of populations in protracted crisis situations and to break the vicious circles of poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition.

Having learned that a small number of trainers in the commune had received a training on compost techniques a few months earlier, the clubs’ members felt that this training could benefit everyone. They therefore took the initiative to invite the trainees to replicate the training and show the process of building pits and composting techniques. The initiative was born in part from the 300 Dimitra Clubs set up in 2019 by this joint project in 66 villages in the regions of Maradi (Commune of Chadakori) and Zinder (Commune of Dogo).

A total of 25 facilitators transfer their knowledge

The initial compost-making training was provided by FAO in January 2019 for 17 men and eight women from the project intervention area (one person from each of the 25 targeted villages) in the commune of Chadakori. Composting has several benefits related to improving soil fertility, soil quality and biodiversity, and reducing ecological risks. Learning this technique is therefore crucial for improving agricultural productivity and protecting the environment.

During a discussion organized a few months later by the Dimitra Clubs that had just been created in these villages, the members of the clubs highlighted the problem of the lack of knowledge about composting techniques. Therefore, they decided to invite the people trained by the project to pass on their knowledge in a practical way to the club members.

To ensure the quality of knowledge transfer, the trainers came in pairs to each of the 25 villages and trained club members and other interested individuals. In two weeks, nearly 5 000 members of the women's and men's clubs learned how to make compost in the commune of Chadakori. Although women were not the majority of the beneficiaries of the initial training, they accounted for 68 per cent of those trained (3 400 women), with youth under 35 years of age reaching 29 per cent (1 460 young people, 869 of whom are girls).

"Not only has composting allowed me to save 18 000 FCFA, which was the cost of the chemical fertilizer I used before, but the compost has also strengthened the fertility of my field".

4. Generational gaps, women empowerment and decent rural employment

Gender equality and women’s empowerment in agriculture, food security and nutrition
(FMM/GLO/138/MUL)

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