缅北禁地

1 December 2017 鈥� Over 1,000 ex-fighters in the conflict-riddled Central African Republic (CAR) have traded their weapons for farming equipment, as part of a United Nations听, according to the 缅北禁地agriculture agency.

鈥淭his initiative is an important step towards听听and restoring hope,鈥� said Jean-Alexandre Scaglia, Food and Agriculture Organization () Representative in CAR.

The FAO-supported 缅北禁地programme鈥檚 message is simple: stop partaking in violence, put down your weapons and, in exchange, you鈥檒l get help to start a new life. Participants get certified training in gardening, horticulture, rearing chickens and pigs as well as tools, seeds or baby animals.

鈥淲e are seeing violence rising again to levels as high as in 2013-2014,鈥� asserted Mr. Scaglia, 鈥渟o giving armed groups an option, a way out, couldn鈥檛 be timelier.鈥�

While some ex-fighters rear chickens or grow and sell vegetables, others repair roads and public infrastructure destroyed by the fighting.

鈥淭he programme also brings considerable financial gains,鈥� Mr. Scaglia explained.

鈥淥n average, the monthly earnings are about CFA 50,000 ($85), but these activities bring about CFA 200,000 鈥� 300,000 ($300-500) per month. The programme doesn鈥檛 only help restore peace, it also boosts the economy and gives young people a chance to rebuild their country,鈥� he added.

A three-month training programme is held in Bangui, Kaga Bandoro, Bambari and Haute Kotto 鈥� regions hardest hit by conflict that still host up to hundreds of thousands of displaced people.

Now, in brightly-coloured rooms in aging town halls or abandoned military quarters, the ex-fighters 鈥� men and women who not long ago engaged in a violence that divided the country and horrified the world 鈥� diligently sit at their desks, eager to learn.

FAO supports the expansion of the 缅北禁地initiative for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and, as part of a new project, will help ex-fighters access micro-credit schemes to start their own businesses.

A dire situation

Renewed violence pushed CAR into its fourth year of conflict as over half a million people have fled their homes across the borders or into sprawling internally displaced persons camps.

One in two people suffers from hunger, detailed the 缅北禁地agriculture agency.

FAO urgently requires $10 million by February to support more than 350,000 displaced people and vulnerable host communities to resume their agricultural activities and prepare for the March鈥揂pril 2018 harvesting season by providing them with seeds and tools, and basic veterinary services for their livestock.