Bujumbura - IOM, the UN Migration Agency, in partnership with the Belgian Development Cooperation, has provided entrepreneurship training as well as mentorship opportunities in agriculture to 120 representatives drawn from internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees and the host community.

The trainees, drawn from 24 community-based associations, will in turn train other members. At least 600 people are expected to benefit from the trainings. Participants, so far, have received training on business development, value chain management and agricultural processing.

As part of the training, the participants visited different private sector groups such as Rice Seed Research Center (Centre Semencier Rizicole), specialized in rice cultivation and research, Agronomic Science Institute of Burundi (Institut des Sciences Agronomiques du Burundi) which is the country’s national seed bank and recognized agricultural research center, as well as Solidarity for Sustainable Development and Economic Growth (Solidarité pour le développement durable et le relèvement de l’économie) that works towards finding agricultural and husbandry methods that are resistant to climate change. 

Through these visits, beneficiaries witnessed first-hand innovative agricultural techniques and trends, received one-on-one mentoring on ways to enhance their own businesses and networked with the private sector.

On the final day of the training, the groups reunited for an Experience Exchange Fair to share lessons learned from the training and the exposure visits as well as discuss possibilities for future business development.

Petronie Sindayigaya, a trainee and member of an association which had been previously supported with a rice husker, explained, “We will now improve on how to prepare seed, and we will continue to consult the Burundi Institute of Agriculture Science to help us continue using selected seeds [and] very good quality seeds that yield good harvest. This is a great gain for us.”

She added, “We had earlier learned how to run small businesses. We learned how to become traders. But after the training, we are set to be entrepreneurs because when you do your business well, you grow till you become a supplier or a distributor to the other traders.”

Pirce Altinok, IOM Resilience and Reintegration Officer said, “Through the coupling of theoretical learning and practical experiences, the participants gained the networking opportunities that can generate new business partnerships, both amongst each other and with the already established private sector actors as well.”

Altinok reiterated the need to foster social cohesion among the returnees, internally displaced and host community members.

The Experience Exchange Fair organized to mark project closure was attended by Yves Nindorera, representative of the Belgian Development Cooperation in Burundi together with representatives of the Communal administrator, ISABU, SODDREC and the Centre Semencier Rizicole.

IOM supported the beneficiaries to start small income-generating activities (IGA) as well as start-up kits for small, quick impact projects to support the livelihoods of IDPs, returnees and host communities. As a result, the 24 associations were able to launch 32 successful agricultural and forestry businesses in Rutana alone. The associations were established during a previous stabilization project funded by the European Union.

Rutana province, where the four-month project was implemented from January to April 2018, hosts a large number of IDPs and returnees.

Since 2014, IOM Burundi has supported the immediate economic recovery of communities affected by crises in Burundi.
This project is part of IOM’s efforts to provide durable solutions which support peaceful coexistence among returnees, IDPs and host communities throughout the country.

For more information, please contact Pirce Altinok in IOM Burundi, Tel +257 75 40 07 75, Email: paltinok@iom.int