Sowing Hope: How Agricultural Training is Growing Futures for Young People

In Togo, something remarkable is beginning to grow. Inspired by the needs around them, local churches and Compassion staff are acting with bold faith. The Nehemiah Agri-Business Academy is now training caregivers in sustainable farming—bringing new hope to children and families living in poverty.

The academy equips young people and caregivers with hands-on skills in agriculture and business—empowering them to build more stable futures.

Koffi Ahonon, Compassion’s National Director for Togo, has overseen the project from the start.

“This intervention is to mitigate high unemployment rates among youth and caregivers by offering them technical training to ensure that they’re self-sufficient,” he says.

Koffi Ahonon shares his thoughts on the Nehemiah Agri-Business Academy

What’s Next for Togo? A Glimpse Ahead

Only a few schools in Togo offer agricultural training. The academy stands out not just for its affordability and practical focus, but for being grounded in faith. Training covers vegetable cultivation, poultry, fish farming, and raising goats and sheep. Each student is supported beyond the classroom to ensure they can put new skills into practice, build income, and share what they’ve learned with others. 

“This project is unique,” says Koffi, “and we believe it will impact thousands of lives.” 

Farming Futures Begin at Summer Camp

Although elements of the academy are still under construction, a six-week summer camp enabled 299 people to learn new techniques they can apply to their farming businesses at home. Local vegetables cultivated at the academy are sold to local markets, benefiting the wider community.

“Since this intervention has been implemented, the young people and caregivers trained at the centre are changing their farming methods. This has significantly increased the wealth of some families. Some young people are helping to ease their parents’ expenses by buying school items,” Koffi says.

Paul explains the different generations of his animals during a visit

From Free-Roaming Goats to Farming Success

Paul, who attended the summer camp at the academy, is already applying everything he has learned – with fantastic benefits for his family. In his words, this is his story:

Before I attended the summer camp training, I had two goats which I used to let roam around the village. I didn’t really care about what they ate or where they slept. I could scarcely bring home some grass and leaves to feed my animals.

But when we went to the training, we were taught that keeping animals in a pen has two great advantages: it helps secure them from thieves and allows us to collect their manure to fertilise our fields. As soon as I returned home, I started building a pen with my dad’s help.

For me, this change means a future of large-scale animal production as part of my business. Currently, I have six goats and two sheep. As I feed them in the pen, I’m able to gather the manure they produce and no longer need to spend money on chemical fertiliser for my maize farm.

This intervention suits the needs of most of us in rural families. Using the techniques we learned from the centre has been very beneficial for our small businesses. It contributes to our food security in a significant way.

The intervention team now plans to introduce a new flock of chickens, resume fish farming with Tilapia, and expand their market gardening activities to include short courses in composting and allotments.

Nehemiah Agri-Business Academy’s impact in numbers

Be part of something life-changing

Support the inspiring work happening in Togo by giving a Gift of Compassion — for yourself or in someone’s name. Your gift will help provide practical agricultural training, mentoring, and hope for families working to build a stable future. It’s a powerful way to invest in lasting change and equip someone to thrive.