In many rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, agriculture is both a promise and a challenge. Here, a new generation is emerging: young farmers who no longer see the land as a static inheritance, but as a space of transformation. In the initiative Young Farmers, Heroes of Change, ambitious young people self-organise to experiment, document and share their knowledge with each other. In this way, they have become important actors in promoting self-determined, grassroots agricultural development.
For many years, in the minds of young Congolese people, agriculture was associated with poverty and hardship. Parents would encourage their children to go ‘make it in the city’. Yet urban unemployment and repeated food crises have progressively changed the perception of some young community leaders.
In this context, Young Farmers, Heroes of Change is a community action programme looking to gather, educate and help rural youth to get involved in agroecology. Through the training, they develop practical knowledge on agroecological methods, test them on the fields, experience exchange programmes and receive assistance from agricultural organisations in the region. Participants experiment with climate resilient farming methods, composting, intercropping, agroforestry and saving locally adapted seeds. They observe, fail, adjust and try again. Their strength is not only in technique, but in documenting and passing on their field observations to the community.
Agroecology as a field language
For these youth in peri-urban and rural regions, agroecology is not a theory but a practical response to everyday problems such as depleted soils, expensive inputs and declining yields. They immediately test the principles they learn in their fields and within their villages. They create communal composting systems to restore the soil’s fertility, plant useful trees among their crops, and explore intercropping combinations for more resilience and better yields. They progressively reduce the use of chemical fertilisers, return to using local seed varieties, and adopt sustainable water and soil management practices suitable to their climatic conditions.
A participating young farmer from the Maluku zone explains: “Before, I used to grow a single crop on the entire plot. Now, I mix legumes, vegetables and trees. The soil stays moist longer, and I can harvest a greater variety of products.”
Agroecology thus becomes a shared language among young people, a set of practices, and a way of thinking about the relationship between production, nature and community.
The young farmer as a ‘hero of change’
The word ‘hero’ in this programme is not about glorification, but about recognising those who dare to experiment and do things differently. Someone who influences their peers. Someone who documents their practices and lessons, and transfers knowledge. These young people are heroic because they actively produce and pass on relevant local knowledge, thereby uplifting the whole community.
They are heroic because they actively produce and pass on relevant local knowledge, thereby uplifting the whole community
The effects transcend the agricultural results, and recognition plays a powerful role. When a young farmer’s work is acknowledged and praised, confidence grows. Others then begin to respect them and to seek their advice. For the farmers, this recognition makes them more confident, legitimises them and affirms their role as heroes of change. This has a positive effect on the whole community as it inspires others to try new things and to farm more sustainably. Yet partial recognition can also create rivalries and create tension and exclusion within the community. The strongest approaches are those that value the whole group and recognise the core value of the initiative: that learning is a collective process.
Young Farmers, Heroes of Change aims to create leaders, but more importantly, it cultivates a local culture of shared learning. These young people become living focal points for change. They welcome others onto their plots, explain their techniques, and share their results—both successes and mistakes. This hands-on approach to learning and teaching is more powerful than any lesson from a textbook. The heroic role that the young farmers take on is that of an active producer of local knowledge and a community educator.
Data, digital technology and agroecology: a new alliance
Having access to timely information is crucial and can determine the success of a growing season. That is why the programme embraces the use of digital technology. Questions such as knowing when to sow, which variety to choose, how to respond to pests, or when to sell produce are answered through simple and accessible digital mechanisms. WhatsApp groups, community relays, technical data sheets, audio messages in local languages, and weather report broadcasts have become part and parcel of the modern farmers’ routine.
When one young producer was hesitant to sow because of an unpredictable season, the information and advice he received through the exchange group helped him to make an informed decision. Local weather alerts, tailored cultivation advice, and feedback from his peers who had already tested a more resilient variety encouraged him to adjust his schedule and technique and to later share his results. It is this hybridisation of farming knowledge, human support, and digital information sharing that is accelerating the adoption of agroecological innovations by young people today.
Digital technology does not replace field knowledge; it strengthens the producer’s decision-making capacity and reduces uncertainty. Young farmers are increasingly using digital technology in their daily work. They use their phones as often as their farming tools. One young farmer takes a photo of a damaged leaf to ask his peers for advice in an online discussion group. Another records a short video to show how his compost or intercropping is progressing. Others use their phones to compare selling prices at different local markets before deciding when and where to sell their produce.
In areas where technical support is limited, these digital exchanges enable young farmers to continue learning from their peers, even remotely.
Real obstacles, local solutions
It would be unrealistic to talk about the rise of young people in climate-resilient agriculture without mentioning the obstacles they face. Limited access to land, lack of start-up financing opportunities, insufficient technical support, low social recognition and increasingly unpredictable climate risks make it difficult to find one’s footing as a farmer, even with good training.
Agroecology thus becomes a shared language among young people
Where the obstacles seem insurmountable, local communities are coming up with their own solutions that are in turn supported by the Young Farmer, Heroes of Change programme. In farmer field schools, young farmers learn climate-resilient agricultural practices directly in the field, transforming each plot of land into a living classroom. Youth cooperatives allow them to pool their strengths and resources, opening up access to land and start-up financing that would otherwise be out of reach. Savings groups, meanwhile, create an economic safety net, helping the farmers to cope with climate risks and unpredictable markets.
Community initiatives are filling the void left by weak formal structures. These initiatives do not come from outside, but from the creativity and determination of the communities themselves. They combine traditional knowledge, local innovation and solidarity, proving that even in the face of enormous challenges, concrete and appropriate solutions can arise directly from the land and the hands of those who live there.
Youth as an accelerator of transition
While some argue that young people lack experience, it is precisely because of their age that they play an accelerating role here. With their minds open to experimentation, their rapid mastery of new tools, and the fact that they network – all of this puts them in a unique position to develop, test and disseminate new practices within their communities and drive the agroecological transition.
In many rural areas, young producers are no longer content to wait for formal training. They organise themselves to learn and share their knowledge.
One morning, as part of the programme, a dozen young farmers gathered on one of their plots to discuss their experiences and difficulties. Each arrived with an observation, a question or a problem to solve. They walked through the field, discussing the soil conditions, the plant vigour and pest signs. One young farmer shared the results of his mulching experimentation; another described his experience of reducing inputs thanks to local compost. Phones are passed around with ‘before and after’ photos to compare and adjust their techniques. The discussions are direct, practical and sometimes contradictory, but always focused on finding solutions.
These self-organised mini training sessions, exchange visits to plots, and technical discussion groups are transforming the way young producers learn within the programme. They are not dependent on knowledge through formal structures; instead, it is readily available and circulating among their peers.
A new understanding of agriculture
During one of the field visits, one visitor asked, almost reflexively: “So you couldn’t find any other work?” The reply from the farmer came without hesitation: “No, I created my own job, and I’m going to find solutions that others can copy.” The conversation shifted. The young peers talked about experimentation, soil productivity, improved local varieties and direct markets. “We are not the last resort,” one stated. “We are the new generation of farmers.”
In their words, agriculture is no longer a means of survival; it is a space for innovation. What was once the option chosen for lack of better opportunities is now viewed as a commitment to the future. A living ecosystem where soil, water, seeds and community are interconnected.
During a peer exchange meeting, I noted the terms they used: testing, improving, adapting, restoring the soil, promoting local value and green entrepreneurship. The narrative is already changing, as can be seen in their language, their collective initiatives, and the way they present their fields as living laboratories.
The youth display a new confidence. They are not asking for charity, but for appropriate tools, reliable access to information, learning spaces, fairer markets and recognition of their role in the agricultural transition. Their message is clear: they do not want help to leave the land, they want the means to make a better living.
Heroes with muddy boots
The agroecological revolution in the Democratic Republic of Congo is not waiting for government policies or advanced technologies. It is already unfolding in the fields where new methods are being tested, and in the groups where young farmers learn together. This revolution is within reach of thousands of young farmers who are patiently improving their farming methods, and often inspiring – without necessarily realising it – the communities around them.
These young farmers, who are the true heroes of change, do not wear capes. They wear boots covered in soil, use local seeds, compost organic waste, and document and analyse it all to improve season after season. By cultivating the land, these young farmers are also cultivating hope for a food system that is fairer, more resilient and more vibrant. With better access to the necessary tools, relevant information, training and markets, they will not only feed their villages but will reshape the future of agriculture.
Author: Panu Mambote Benejah (32) is an environmental engineer and expert in agricultural market information systems who designs and implements innovative solutions for the digital transformation of farmers’ organisations. In addition to being a farmer, he is also an activist through the Confédération Paysanne du Congo (COPACO-PRP), a member organisation of La Via Campesina in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Contact: judd.rdc@gmail.com
This article is part of Issue 4-2026: Youth leading the way in agroecology.
