Project Summary
The Casamance Youth Agricultural Project (CYAP) is a 10-month apprenticeship that provides 30 young adults living in the city of Ziguinchor with agribusiness and sustainability training. Participants receive basic business management and coaching towards starting and managing their own farms. Aspects of leadership development and community service are also integrated throughout the program year. 
Project Context
The Department of Ziguinchor, of the Casamance Region of Senegal—with its rich soil and long history of small-scale agriculture—has the potential to become the breadbasket of Senegal by providing food and economic opportunities within the region and beyond. However, the continuation of a 30-year conflict in the Casamance region has restricted economic and infrastructure investments.  As a direct result of the conflict, there are continued food shortages and a high unemployment rate—especially among the youth.
Project Model
CYAP is designed to build the technical capacity of an emerging class of young farmers in the Department of Ziguinchor. Capacity building allows them to make fact-based and strategic decisions about their agribusiness and to work in partnership with community stakeholders with the ultimate goal of sustainability and service.
CYAP follows the following three (3) integrated strategies:
1.Agricultural Training Module - Participants will learn new agricultural techniques through their field training, improving and increasing future agricultural yields.
2.Agricultural Entrepreneurship Module - Participants will receive sixty-five (65) hours of lessons on competitive advantage, ownership, planning, opportunity recognition, marketing, bookkeeping, and product development.
3.Team Service Project - Participants will spend one (1) day per week on leadership development trainings to develop personal and professional skills. Participants will then use these skills to implement a community service project, working in teams to strategically tackle community issues.
Population Served
The 2014 inaugural class includes young migrant workers, ages 20-35, who come from rural villages located within two (2) hours of Ziguinchor. The farmers work in Ziguinchor during the dry seasons. CYAP is working within a year-long cycle that is already in place. First, there is full-time coursework in Ziguinchor during the dry season. This is then followed by distance learning and mentorship. After, farmers return to their farms to apply what they learned during the rainy season. Lastly, there is additional part-time coursework in Ziguinchor to complete the training.