The project "Support in agroforestry and livestock farming for agricultural households in Kailo Territory and the Bateke Plateau, in the Democratic Republic of Congo" is a project of the Association for the Development of Women's Initiatives, "ADIF". This project is planned to be implemented for 5 years (2021–2025) in two territories, in particular the Territory of Kailo in Maniema, and the Plateau de Bateke in the city Province of Kinshasa.

The target group consists mainly of 3,500 women who are the most socio-economically marginalized and vulnerable to gender-based violence, including women and girls who are heads of households, widows, abandoned or single mothers, women displaced by war, illiterate women, women with very low incomes and/or have little or no access to economic or social opportunities with low access to economic opportunities. 

The lands chosen for this project are soils of the Humid Tropical Zone which are not very fertile on their own. In addition, the traditional farming practices that have been used there for centuries are no longer adapted to the strong population growth because these practices require vast areas of forest to cover the needs of communities.

Also, this project is presented in a context where the DRC has been engaged in the mechanism for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) for more than a decade. It is part of the logic of “sustainable agricultural and forestry exploitation” and the fight against climate change in the targeted sites.

To this end, the expected results of the said project are (i) 3,500 women, organized in agricultural cooperatives with sustainable production methods, and in Village Savings and Credit Associations "VSLA", improve their social and economic status and influence the promotion and enforcement of their rights. (ii) 500 men involved in the production process alongside women, adopt attitudes and behaviors that contribute to improving male-female power relations and reducing gender-based violence. (iii) 1,000 young people acquire knowledge and entrepreneurial skills that promote job creation, access to a stable and sustainable income as well as healthy relationships likely to strengthen the social cohesion of community members.

It is in this perspective that the project aims firstly to increase sustainable agro-pastoral production through (a) the popularization of good agro-ecological practices among producers on their farms (b) the introduction of shrubby legumes and coverage in producers' plantations (c) popularization of new farming techniques.

Secondly, the project will have to manage to organize an inclusive and efficient market system for the benefit of producers (i) to organize them into agricultural cooperatives (ii) to initiate them to establish business links between value chain actors (iii) ) by strengthening the technical capacities of the managers of the cooperatives set up in business management, market research, entrepreneurship and marketing (iv) by strengthening the resilience of the communities.

The achievement of these objectives is only possible if the technical staff of ADIF acquires increased knowledge on sustainable agricultural production and the systemic approach to the market.