Twenty Rural Advisory Services (RAS) facilitators took part in a training workshop, 8-12 July 2024 in Miandrivazo, Menabe Region in Madagascar, which brought to their attention how Access Agriculture is combining digital extension with youth entrepreneurship to support farmers in adopting agroecological practices.
The training workshop was held as part of Component 3 of the Global Programme for Small-scale Agroecology Producers and Sustainable Food Systems Transformation (GP-SAEP) which is helping empower 1,500 farmers in Madagascar in their transition to agroecology through better access to RAS. The programme is being implemented by the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) in close collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
As a key partner, Access Agriculture was invited to present its role in the project, especially in making farmer training videos available in Malagasy language as well as providing training and mentoring to young Entrepreneurs for Rural Access (ERAs). The workshop was an opportunity to raise awareness among RAS facilitators about the importance of digital extension through Access Agriculture’s rich video library which is available online and offline, along with related audio files and factsheets.
To help the participants understand how this innovative extension model works, Sedson Miandry Rakoto, an ERA from Analamanga region, introduced his business MINDAY Distribution and shared his experience on how the smart projector has boosted his extension activity and his business.
As RAS facilitators heard about combining digital extension with entrepreneurship, they were very curious and asked many questions to Sedson and Karine Rakotoniainasoa, who is the Access Agriculture ERA Coach for Madagascar, regarding the ERA model and possible business opportunities.
“RAS facilitators realised the relevance of the ERA model for their farming communities as Menabe region is known for bean, rice and groundnut production, but there are still lots of challenges to food processing and conservation,” said Karine. “This is an area where the ERA business model can bring innovative solutions.”
