Latest news with #KKC
Zawya
2 days ago
- General
- Zawya
In Mékro, in central Côte d'Ivoire, sustainable agriculture is giving hope to an entire community
Day breaks in Mékro, some 300 km from Abidjan, in central Côte d'Ivoire. The first rays of sun announce the start of what promises to be another sweltering day in a region known for its intense heat. Some women return from the backwaters bringing water to supply the family beehives. Others, armed with brooms made from palm leaves, begin sweeping the compounds, clearing away fallen leaves and scraps from the previous day's meals. A little farther off, domestic animals gradually emerge from their pens, joining the morning hustle and bustle that breathes life back into Mékro's daily routine. In this area of high food crop production, yams, rice and cassava are produced in abundance. Yet despite its agricultural riches, Mékro has long remained in the shadows, unlike other places. For years, farmers here relied on age-old techniques passed down through generations—methods that limited yields and left the population in a state of chronic vulnerability. That morning, Koffi Kouakou Charles, known as "KKC," sharpened his machete, the basic tool he uses to clear his field, under the watchful eyes of his seven children. At 30 years old, he mounted his bicycle and headed to Abokouassikro, five km away, where he has cultivated yams for several years. In the past, Koffi grew 'Kouba' yams, a popular local variety. Reflecting on those days, he recalls how traditional farming techniques learned and passed down from his ancestors, failed to reward his hard work. "Frankly, the work was exhausting. On top of that, we were using old-fashioned techniques. Despite our efforts, the harvests were poor. It was really hard," sighs Koffi. Hope restored In the first half of 2024, his plight worsened when an epidemic known as the peste des petits ruminants (PPR) struck the village and wiped out his hens and goats. Hurting from this new financial blow, Koffi turned to the Project to Improve the Livelihoods of Smallholders and Women (PREMOPEF) ( to regain hope. Set up by the government of Côte d'Ivoire, the project is funded by the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) ( and the African Development Fund ( the concessional financing window of the African Development Bank Group. Its objective is to contribute to improving first, food and nutrition security and secondly, resilience to the effects of climate change among smallholder farmers, women and young people in the N'Zi region. The project is focused on three agricultural crops: yams, cassava and vegetables, as well as traditional poultry farming, and aims to improve the living conditions of 60,000 vulnerable people, 50 percent of whom are women and 35 percent young people. At the "Farmer Training Field," one of the project's initiatives, Koffi and his fellow project beneficiaries were introduced to agroecological techniques for yam production and conservation. Thanks to the training, Koffi has turned his back on "Kouba" yams and old production practices in favour of new varieties called "Anader" and "Cameroun" (also known as "R3" and "C15"), which are more climate-resistant and productive. A twofold increase in yield From his first harvest in December 2024, Koffi's yam yield doubled—from two to four tonnes on the same plot of land. Thinking ahead, he reserved three-quarters of the harvest for his family's consumption and seed stock for the next season. The remaining quarter was sold at the local market in Mékro, earning him 125,000 CFA francs (around USD 250)—a significant windfall in this rural region. 'Before, I was just focused on surviving,' Koffi says. 'Today, thanks to this project, I can think about my children's future and even expand my farm.' Energized by his progress, Koffi is now determined to scale up and become one of the region's leading yam producers. The prospect of mechanizing his work excites him. 'I'm thinking of buying a ridging machine and a seed drill to make fieldwork easier and increase my yield,' he says confidently. 'The Project to Improve the Livelihoods of Smallholders and Women is a powerful tool for reducing household vulnerability and strengthening resilience to economic and environmental shocks,' says Ceserd Waba Akpaud, the project coordinator. 'PREMOPEF reflects our commitment to transforming rural communities through sustainable, farmer-focused solutions. By applying innovative approaches, we're putting agriculture at the center of inclusive development,' adds Philip Boahen, GAFSP project coordinator at the African Development Bank. To further boost his productivity, Koffi also envisions large-scale storage facilities to cut post-harvest losses. He's planning to diversify his activities too. After losing his livestock to PPR—a disease he attributes to a lack of proper training—he intends to relaunch his poultry business using improved, safer methods. He is now exploring livestock training courses to build the necessary skills. 'It's also a chance for me to make up for the schooling I missed,' he says, determined to turn past setbacks into opportunities. With the knowledge he's gained and the positive impact of the project, a new horizon is opening—not just for Koffi, but for the people of Mékro and the broader economy of the N'Zi region. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
4 Fried Chicken Chains You'll See Everywhere In 2025
A signature dish of the American South, fried chicken, is so popular that it sparked an inter-restaurant competition in 2019. It's debatable whether Chick-fil-A or Popeyes ultimately won the chicken sandwich wars, and the competition has since settled, but the demand for America's favorite meat remains high enough to elevate some well-loved regional restaurants into new American markets. Louisiana's Krispy Krunchy Chicken, North Carolina's Bojangles, and Georgia's Zaxbys are all planning major U.S. expansions in 2025. Once completed, these will include hundreds of new locations across all three chains. But it's not just Southern fast food that's growing -- the Dallas-based Korean fried chicken chain Bonchon is also expanding into a key market as part of larger plans to boost its availability across the United States. But with the average American eating twice as much chicken per year as they do beef or pork, the broad popularity of and ravenous consumer demand for fried chicken is propelling these regional chains into exciting new territory. Read more: The Best Fried Chicken Chains Ranked By Crunch And Flavor Since 1989, Louisiana-born Cajun fried chicken chain Krispy Krunchy Chicken has excelled at the convenience store-based quick-service concept it was built on. That means you won't find many stand-alone Krispy Krunchy Chicken locations, but you will see them attached to gas stations, convenience stores, and Walmarts in 47 states -- and you're about to see even more of them. On the back of opening 605 new locations last year, Krispy Krunchy Chicken announced its intention to open even more stores in 2025. It currently has over 3,200 locations across every U.S. state except Alaska, Hawaii, and Montana, but it's planning a nearly 20% increase in KKC locations. Unfortunately, none of those are planned in Alaska, Hawaii, or Montana — yet. The expansion plans are supported by KKC's expansion of the chain's delivery options. It recently became available on Uber Eats, DoorDash, and GrubHub, so you don't even have to go to the gas station for your fried chicken anymore. From humble beginnings in 1977 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bojangles now serves its Cajun-seasoned fried chicken and some of the best fast food breakfast biscuits throughout the Mid-Atlantic and most of the South. But Bojangles is getting closer to true national distribution, with big 2025 expansions into Texas and the West Coast -- and it's moving fast. By the end of January 2025, Bojangles had already opened its very first stores in Las Vegas and Houston. However, unsatisfied with that debut, Bojangles is planning five more Las Vegas stores and seven more Houston locations, all of which will be open by the end of 2025. Not only that, but the chicken chain announced that 2025 will also see its first restaurants in Phoenix and Los Angeles. Southern California is a particular target for Bojangles, with 2025 franchise deals targeting lucrative markets like Orange County, Riverside, and San Bernardino. Zaxbys is a Georgia-raised fried chicken chain that has seen explosive growth since its 1990 founding, especially in the past few years. Growth continues as the chain breaks into the Mid-Atlantic market. Beginning in late 2025, Zaxbys is opening its first three stores on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, eventually including West Ocean City. But Zaxbys is making bigger moves just up the Delaware River, with over a dozen stores slated to open in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Zaxbys wings and tenders will soon be available in two locations in Southern New Jersey, with four more restaurants to open under the same franchising group. And in Pennsylvania, Zaxbys has signed deals with a local businessman to open 10 locations throughout the Philadelphia area, including two that will open in 2025. Born in 2002 in Busan, South Korea, Bonchon first brought the magic of its Korean fried chicken to the U.S. in 2006, and it was an instant sensation. Since then, the chain has grown to over 140 American locations, but in 2025, it will open in a new environment for its U.S. stores: airports. Bonchon plans to open its first store in an American airport at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, the second-busiest airport in the Los Angeles area. Bonchon already has several airport locations in Asia, but the Orange County airport restaurant will be its first venture in the American market. Bonchon's first U.S. airport store will open midway through the company's five-year plan to double the number of its American restaurants by 2028, with over 100 new stores either open or planned to open in the next three years, as well as experiments with new formats like ghost kitchens in Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, D.C., and Bonchon's first hotel location in Bloomington, Illinois. Competitors like McDonald's and Chick-fil-A have already discovered that airport fast food is big business, being the fast food chains with the most airport locations as of January 2025. Hopefully, Bonchon's ambitious expansion plans will include more stores at bigger airports. Hungry for more? Sign up for the free Daily Meal newsletter for delicious recipes, cooking tips, kitchen hacks, and more, delivered straight to your inbox. Read the original article on The Daily Meal.
