Written by Esmee van Schuppen, Programme Officer Farmer Focused Transformation & Acting Now
Despite many efforts, agricultural cooperatives in Kenya encounter challenges in attracting the necessary financing. To mark the closure of the FFT Bi-Annual meeting in Nairobi, Kenya that coincided with International Women’s Day, March 8th, 2024, Agriterra hosted an insightful panel discussion on ‘Harvesting Hope: Financial Inclusion’. Taking a gendered lens, the panel discussion, consisting of five female leaders in their respective sectors and Wilfred Chepkwony, FFT project lead Kenya unraveled the complexities and viable solutions for agricultural cooperatives to attract necessary finance, especially for female farmers. The session was skillfully moderated by Dr. Daniel Mwendah M’lutha, CEO of the Kenya National Farmers’ Federation (KENAFF) and opened by Stijn van Geel, Regional Manager East Africa at Agriterra and Marco Schouten, CEO, Agriterra.
Read moreDiane Nyirahabimana, 50, is a member of KOKUMUJE cooperative and a shareholder in SPF Joint Ventures Ltd in Rwanda. She sources 4 tons of certified seed potatoes from SPF every season to produce potatoes for consumption on 1.5 hectare of own land. Agriterra interventions through SPF favored Diane to progressively increase her income through market-oriented potato farming.
Read moreWritten by Korotimi Drabo, Cooperative advisor Burkina Faso
From 27 February to 1 March 2024, a training course on the basic principles of marketing was held in Ouagadougou. The course was attended by 4 horticultural cooperatives involved in the production, processing and marketing of tomatoes and onions, namely NYI DWI NYE, NAKOGLBZANGA, UPPOB, SONG-TAABA and OUEZENA, a shea collection and processing cooperative. 20 participants took part in the workshop, including 11 women and 6 young people.
Stanislas Bouda, accounting manager at the Union Provinciale des Producteurs d'Oignons des Balé, says: "After this training course, I'm well equipped to get to know our buyers and offer them services that meet their expectations".
Supported by Agriterra's Acting Now Project in Kajiado County, Kenya
Written by Esther Kalanza, Cooperative Advisor - Acting Now, Kenya
In the arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) of Kajiado County, Kenya, a group of Maasai women are defying the odds of climate change and poverty by running a successful dairy cooperative that provides them with income, food, and empowerment. The Maasai Kajiado Women Cooperative, established in 2010, has grown to over 3,400 members who deliver their milk to the cooperative. Kajiado County was harshly hit by the drought in 2022-2023, with most pastoralist farmers losing up to 70% of their livestock. Agriterra came across the cooperative in 2023 when the catchment was full of carcasses of dead animals.
Jeroen Kruft, former owner of a company focused on product development in developing countries, is regularly enlisted by Agriterra to provide advice to cooperatives in, for example, Peru, Congo and Tanzania. In September last year, he shared his experiences and insights in marketing with cocoa cooperative Ecakoog in Ivory Coast. "I examined their customer base, their finances and the quality of the cocoa. We visited some plantations, discussed certification, and looked at a marketing strategy."
Read moreRosemary Twinamatsiko (51 years old) lives in Kashongi, Uganda. She resides with her husband, two sons and two daughters. She is a cattle breeder with 30 Friesian bulls and 60 goats.Next to that, she manages a one-acre coffee plantation. Rosemary has been a female leader for 15 years, facilitating the mobilisation of more women at the cooperative where she works.
Read moreBorn into a modest and impoverished family, Fiona’s journey is a demonstration of what is possible with hard work, dedication, and the pursuit of dreams.
Read moreAgriterra is delighted to announce our recent rejoining of AgriCord. AgriCord is a network of agri-agencies that work with member based organisations globally. The alliance aims to promote and help build other farmer organisations and cooperatives through peer-to-peer exchange and help organise farmers in an effective, efficient, inclusive and democratic manner to spur their development. The alliance is made up of 13 member organisations, including Agriterra, and members range from countries across Europe as well as Senegal, Canada, the Philippines and Brazil.
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