Description

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Peace Corps/Togo averages 55 trainees per year and fields an average of 110 Volunteers.Volunteers work in all five regions of the country in four programs: natural resourcemanagement; community health and AIDS prevention; small enterprise development; andgirls' education and empowerment.Heavy demographic pressure is straining Togo's agricultural systems and the ability of theland to regenerate itself. Traditional farming practices cannot meet the needs of theincreasing population, nor do these practices address the problem of soil degradation.Togo's forests are being depleted, while demand for wood products is increasing. Cropresidues, a precious organic fertilizer for tropical soils, are no longer left on the land, butare used as alternative fuels. Volunteers in the natural resource management programwork to address these issues and attempt to reverse the trends in the areas of decreasingfarm yields, environmental degradation, poor soil fertility, and decreasing forest resources.