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In this edition of Wilson Center NOW we speak with Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding Scholar Paterne Mombe. Mombe discusses the impact the five-year conflict in the Central African Republic has had on subsistence farmer’s food production, exacerbating rampant poverty among rural populations. He also describes how revitalizing the agricultural sector is a possible key to sustaining peace building efforts in the Central African Republic as well as throughout Africa.

Guest

Fr. Paterne Auxence Mombe is currently pursuing a Ph.D. from Tangaza University in Nairobi, where his studies focus on social transformation and sustainable development. He also holds a B.A. in philosophy from the Canisius Institute of Philosophy, a B.Sc. in Biochemistry-Microbiology from the University of Ouagadougou, as well as a Master of Divinity in Theology from Hekima College. Fr. Mombe has also attained a post master’s degree in Moral Theology (STL) and options bioethics from the Weston Jesuit School of Theology. He served as Director of the Educational Center and as a Biology/Mathematics teacher in Kyabe, Chad. He has held positions as the Director of Loyola Hope Center’s HIV/AIDS Project in Lomé, Togo and Regional Director of the African Jesuit AIDS Network in Kenya. He is the author of the book Rays of Hope: Managing HIV and AIDS in Africa, the co-editor of Aids 30 Years Down the Line: Faith Based Reflections About The Epidemic In Africa, and has contributed to several other publications. As an SVNP scholar at the Wilson Center, his research focuses on “Agricultural Extension as a Peacebuilding Tool in a Post-Conflict Context: The Case of the Central African Republic.” A native of the Central African Republic, Father Mombe is a priest in the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church.

**Moderator **

John Milewski **is the executive producer and managing editor of **Wilson Center NOW and also serves as director of Wilson Center ON DEMAND digital programming.

See the video here