His life as a soldier was difficult and dangerous, andhe longed to return to life on a farm. "As a Mai Mai, youdo what you are told. You sleep poorly, eat poorly and thereis always the risk of being killed;' he recalls. After two ofhis closest friends were killed in battle, he searchedfor a safe way out.

When a demobilization program began in 2007, Lukogo handed overhis weapon for farming tools and tried to return to the life he remembered,but his first year oHarming on leased land produced disappointing results. Though he tended his maizecrop attentively, the harvest produced only a meager 100 to 150 kg. "We could not find money -life was astruggle for me, my wife and children. I didn't have chickens, I didn't have goats, I didn't own land;' says Lukogo.Determined to provide a better life for his family, he investigated a local farmers' cooperative, COOSOPRODA.

A COOSOPRODAmember invited Lukogo to a CATALISTtraining session on how fertilizers could improve cropyields. Although Lukogo had never heard of fertilizers before then, today he is convinced that this knowledgeturned his life around. Through that training he was introduced to IFDe's Integrated Soil Fertility Management(ISFM)techniques of combining the right proportions and quantities of organic and chemical fertilizers toenrich the soil. Eager to put into practice what he had learned, Lukogo got a loan from a butcher, spent $32 onseeds and fertilizer, and prepared his land for planting.

ISFM produced the results his trainers had described. His first harvest provided him with a record yield of 600 kgof maize. Because the market price for maize that year was high, he was able to earn a profit of $180 - the mosthe had ever made in his life. Easily able to repay his loan, he then paid off the balance on another parcel of land,bought two goats and three chickens - and he still had $60 to invest in the next harvest. "This gave me joy andallowed me to enter into different projects. I used the remaining money to lease an additional 30 acres of land;'he says! reminded of his childhood home. His second harvest, also successful, brought smaller profits due to lowmarket prices but still enabled him to buy a cow - a much-revered asset in his community.

Lukogo believes that offering a sustainable livelihood to former soldiers is vital to maintaining peace and securityin the region. Having witnessed firsthand the violence of conflict in South Kivu as well as the effectiveness of ISFMtechniques and the possibility of a peaceful life, he explains! "Other demobilized soldiers have observed what Ihave been able to accomplish and I ask them to join us so they can have the same success:'

Today COOSOPRODAis working with IFDCfacilitators to develop a "warrantage" or inventory credit system."When CATALISTleaves, we want to be able to continue to earn a livelihood;' Lukogo explains. "Now I know wecan increase our production, but the market is flooded when we all harvest and try to sell our crop at the sametime. We need a reliable storage system so that our profits can be higher;' he smiles. "The inventory credit systemgives us that opportunity for higher profits:!