To promote youth entrepreneurship in digital agricultural extension and advisory services in the Menabe region in Madagascar, 12 young men and women belonging to six Entrepreneur for Rural Access (ERA) teams were equipped with digital tools and skills by Access Agriculture and its partners, 15-18 October 2024, in Morondava, Madagascar.
The training was conducted as part of the ‘Global Programme for Small-scale Agroecology Producers and Sustainable Food Systems Transformation (GP-SAEP), which aims to support over 1,500 farming households in transitioning to agroecology in the Menabe region.
The main objective of the training was to prepare these young entrepreneurs to deliver e-Rural Advisory Services (RAS) in the districts of Miandrivazo, Mahabo, and Morondava in the Menabe region by screening farmer training videos on agroecology in local language using a solar-powered smart projector.
In addition to mastering the use of the smart projector kit to successfully conduct video screening sessions to farming communities and submit appropriate reports to Access Agriculture, the ERAs gained knowledge on how to develop their own business model canvas (BMC) and map relevant business partners in their districts. They also learned to use different social media platforms to market their businesses and build brand identity.
To help new ERA teams gain a clear understanding of their role, Danny Rahelison and Rommel Zafindrakiky, ERAs from the districts of Ambanja and Ambato Boeny shared their experiences and personal insights as ERAs. The training workshop also gave the new ERAs an opportunity to have their first experience in screening videos to farmers, accompanied by project partners.
“They were also introduced to the GP-SAEP project by Master Trainers and the national country forum for Rural Advisory Services (FCA), as their work contributes to the project’s goal of transitioning over 1,500 farmer households to agroecology in the Menabe region,” said Karine Rakotoniainasoa, Entrepreneur Coach for Madagascar.
Local stakeholders, including the project partners and implementers, such as the Forum of agriculture consultants (FCA), Master Trainers and Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) were invited to the training workshop. Serge Andriamiarinera, Regional Director of Agriculture and Livestock of the Menabe region, officially opened the workshop and presided over the smart projector handover ceremony.
Appreciating the training workshop, Mariano Tongamisy from YPARD said, “It is very relevant to pair extension with business since entrepreneurship is not a widely pursued path of career and young people in Menabe have few entrepreneur role models. This can enable them to become excellent problem solvers and open them to a wide range of opportunities.”
The GP-SAEP project is being implemented by the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) in close collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). GFRAS in partnership with Access Agriculture and YPARD are responsible for Component 3 of the project relating to RAS and farmer-to-farmer joint learning.
The training was facilitated by Karine and Ezra Masolaki, Entrepreneur coach for East Africa with support from Phil Malone, Access Agriculture Co-founder; Volaniaina Robsona, Project National Coordinator and 3 Master Trainers.
“Thanks to the training, ERAs are now better equipped to screen training videos for farmers, bridging knowledge gaps and introducing effective, sustainable techniques in a format that resonates with local communities,” said Karine.
