The goal of training is to promote an agricultural, entrepreneurial spirit in young Africans by developing and transmitting the human values capable of bringing about behavioral changes. Through this training, the students can then become agents of their own development. The final goal is to train a new breed of leaders capable not only of conceiving and carrying out entrepreneurial activities, but of equally blending individual and communal interests.

The three fundamental principles of training in Songhai are to:

• To create the desire in youth, underprivileged groups, and women to participate in entrepreneurial activities and in so doing empower themselves. To teach them values, which will lead to a change of attitude will thus make them agents of their own development.

• To improve trainees' skills in the areas of analysis and socio-economic awareness, coordination, leadership, organization and management of sustainable community development activities.

• To teach "know-how" in agriculture, animal husbandry, fish farming, processing, marketing, craft industry, and business management through productive and profitable learning workshops.

The training is a continuous process made up of successive stages. It involves progressively bringing the recipients (be they school drop-outs, current farmers, or executives) to a given level by sharing knowledge, expertise, and the ability to motivate others. The end result of this process is the establishment of profitable businesses and centers of excellence, which attract both local farmers and development agents and engender genuine socio-economic dynamics in rural areas.

RECRUITING

The basic training (level I) is for young Africans in general, particularly Beninese, from primary school level to the baccalaureat (high school graduate level) or even beyond. The student farmers are recruited for 18 months in sets of 20 to 25, based on a recruitment test focusing upon the applicant's reasons for seeking to work in the agricultural sector as well as his ability to reason and think logically. Recruiting takes place once every 6 months (June and December). Information is broadcast on the radio, through posters and by word of mouth. The candidates are instructed to arrive with a hoe, a cutlass, a calculator and a pen.