Four teams of Access Agriculture’s young Entrepreneurs for Rural Access (ERAs) from Madagascar managed to bag 10 business opportunities and contracts by marketing successfully their services and businesses at the recently concluded FIER MADA 2024, held in Antananarivo, Madagascar.
“Our booth offered the ERA teams a great opportunity to showcase their e-Rural Advisory Services using the smart projector containing a wide range of farmer training videos,” said Karine Rakotoniainasoa, Entrepreneur Coach for Madagascar. “The ERA teams also promoted and sold products from their own businesses, such as honey and beekeeping equipment, rice and other grains, seeds, fruits and herbs, vermicompost, dried fruit, fruit chips and many others.”
The International Rural Economy Fair or FIER MADA is the largest event dedicated to rural economy and agriculture. The 25th edition of FIER MADA in 2024 was held under the theme "A flourishing rural economy, the State protects production from all risks.” It hosted nearly 450 booths showcasing various products from agriculture, livestock, and fishing sectors. Many innovations in agro-food processing were also highlighted in FIER MADA 2024.
The Fair also served as a platform for farmers to share their knowledge and experience. Speaking about the active participation of the ERAs in the Fair, Karine said, “This was a successful first step towards promoting Access Agriculture’s innovative approach on RAS and extension to agriculture stakeholders in Madagascar. This model is still quite new here.”
