Global farm firms come together to train 500,000 rural entrepreneurs

Global agriculture major Corteva Agrisciences, Sustainable Agriculture Foundation International Association (SAFIA), which was earlier known as Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Development, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have come together to set up a virtual academy to mentor 500,000 rural entrepreneurs worldwide.

 

Called the Global Agri-Entrepreneurship Academy (GAEA), the goal of the academy is to provide training, mentoring, and market linkages to become sustainable service providers to 100 million farmers across Asia, Africa, and Latin America over the next 10 years.

 

The academy, which has been set up with a starting capital of $3 million, will seek to address critical challenges in smallholder farming that include lack of local and affordable access to quality inputs, technology, and modern farming know-how.

 

The academy was formally launched late last evening with MoU signing between partner organisations. The GAEA is registered as a non-profit foundation in Switzerland and backed by the Government of Japan.

 

The GAEA, as a starting point, is looking to work with the governments of Bhutan and Malawi to share the expertise that Bihar's Ajeevika Mission had with female rural entrepreneurs.

 

“We have activated more than 23,000 rural entrepreneurs to create jobs in the villages, raise living standards, and improve farmers’ access to inputs, services, and markets. Now we want to share the experience of guiding rural youth and women to become successful entrepreneurs at a much greater scale through access to our tools, methods, and experience with others,” Simon Winter, executive director, SAFIA, said. He said GAEA has identified partners in Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Tanzania, and Côte d'Ivoire to launch the first cohort of projects.