We are an agricultural cooperative that aims to develop rural communities by mentoring women's and youth groups. We specialize in promoting Sustainable Agriculture, as indicated by our name: Cooperative for the Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture - COPAD.
We organize groups of women and youth engaged in agricultural activities to promote teamwork, consolidate peace, and support social cohesion. The goal of these groups is to enhance the value of agriculture so that the beneficiaries, especially young women, single mothers, and vulnerable women, achieve financial autonomy that enables their social reintegration.
Our interest is to make agriculture a source of decent income for young people and women, and at the same time, an effective tool for job creation.
It is therefore with the aim of establishing a cohesive agricultural value chain to achieve sustainable development and financial autonomy for young people and women that the Cooperative Society for the Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture - COPAD was created.
To see young people and women flourishing and financially independent through the development of the value chain of sustainable agriculture and the initiation of income-generating activities through capacity building in various key areas of entrepreneurial life.
Our mission is to help young people and women self-develop and create employment by channeling available resources until achieving financial autonomy through the promotion of sustainable agriculture as a pillar of development for the Burundian community. We place particular emphasis on establishing an agricultural value chain to offer them a wide range of activities that generate a positive impact within the community.
The COPAD Cooperative has already created women's groups in Kiganda - Muramvya and Gihanga - Bubanza. These groups are mentored in agricultural production, especially in the production of cereals and other food crops.
The COPAD Cooperative has created youth groups in Gitaza - Rumonge, Nyabiraba - Bujumbura Rural, and Mpanda - Bubanza, mentored in the production and collection of fruits.
The Cooperative has already established model fields in Gihanga, Buringa - Bubanza, Kiganda - Muramvya, Gitaza - Rumonge, Nyabiraba - Bujumbura Rural, and Mpanda - Bubanza, where member groups learn agricultural techniques to apply them in their respective households.
The establishment of model fields allows project beneficiaries to strengthen their capacities in agricultural techniques, increase agricultural production, and create employment. These model fields mainly focus on promoting crops such as :
The COPAD Cooperative also rents fields and guides their exploitation for the benefit of beneficiary groups to promote teamwork, peace consolidation, and social cohesion.
In addition to these common fields, beneficiaries are encouraged to apply the agricultural techniques learned on their family lands to increase income from agriculture.
