Focus on agroecology in Guinea: highlights from two participatory workshops held in Mamou and Kindia

As part of the ENABEL Guinea-funded programme, ‘Strengthening the resilience of Guinean populations to climate, food and economic shocks through sustainable agricultural development’, COLEAD carried out its first field mission dedicated to the agroecological transition in the Mamou and Kindia regions.

A foundational mission to support local value chains

The project, which was launched in 2025, aims to improve the incomes of stakeholders in the potato, pineapple and vegetable farming value chains in a sustainable way, with a particular focus on youth and women. The project’s specific objective is to encourage these stakeholders to engage in an inclusive and progressive transition towards agroecology while addressing growing market demands.

To this end, two participatory workshops were organised to initiate collective reflection on the targeted agricultural value chains. This mission marks a foundational step in COLEAD’s work in Guinea under this programme.

The workshops had three main objectives:

• Present the fundamentals of agroecology and its core principles, which are directly connected to the realities of local value chains.
• Define collective action areas for the short, medium and long term.
• Structure dialogue within a sustainable perspective using the Farmer Field School (FFS) methodology.

Local mobilisation and participation

In Mamou, 37 participants gathered, representing a dynamic agricultural ecosystem. In Kindia, 42 stakeholders participated in the discussions. The workshops were characterised by the strong involvement of producers and cooperative leaders, effective group activities and completed questionnaires that helped lay the groundwork for the initial stage of support.

Early outcomes

A positive group dynamic emerged, driven by the deployment of the TAPE (Tool for Agroecology Performance Evaluation), developed in close collaboration with ENABEL’s team and Guinea’s decentralised services. Beyond the workshops, key meetings helped to strengthen operational partnerships between iCRA, ENABEL, COLEAD and local stakeholders.

These exchanges reinforced a shared commitment to supporting an agroecological transition that promotes resilience and opportunity for Guinea’s agricultural stakeholders.

The Agriéco project, implemented in Guinea with financial support from the Belgian Development Agency (ENABEL). This publication was produced with financial support from ENABEL. Its contents are the sole responsibility of COLEAD and cannot in any way be considered to reflect the official position of ENABEL.