IFAD grant of US$1.95million to create opportunities for rural youth in West and Central Africa

Posted on February 27, 2014 by

CORY signedInvesting in rural youth is critical if they are to stay in rural areas and contribute to their development.

Rome, 26 February 2014 –

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will provide a grant of US$1.95 million to the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED) to support creating opportunities for rural youth in West and Central Africa, beginning in Benin, Cameroon, Gambia and Nigeria.

Heather Spidell, President and CEO of CEED, and Michel Mordasini, Vice President of IFAD, signed the grant agreement today.

The global economic crisis has adversely impacted three key areas associated with sustainable development and affecting young people across the world: employment, enterprise and development funding. Youth constitute 70 per cent of Africa’s population and are keenly feeling the impact of the crisis. They face numerous challenges in their attempt to find decent employment, gain access to credit and create businesses. Many young people have creative ideas that could provide them with employment through enterprise development, but they lack the resources to realize their vision.

The aim of the new project is to enable young rural women and men to create sustainable farm and non-farm businesses by building their entrepreneurial capacities, through enhanced peer learning and access to complementary business development services. Young rural women and men, ages 15-35, who are involved in either agricultural production or activities associated with rural markets are the target group of this project. About 2,880 young agricultural entrepreneurs (“agripreneurs”) and 43,200 farm and non-farm rural young entrepreneurs would be trained, and 480 rural youth enterprises launched. In addition, 2,400 rural venture creation teams will be set up through which young entrepreneurs will be paired with mentors. Women will make up at least half of the participants.

From 26 to 28 February, a workshop will be organized at IFAD headquarters in Rome to review and finalize the implementation plan and key activities of this grant, including taking into account feedback on target country investment priorities. It will also be an opportunity for IFAD to learn and share experiences with the grant recipient (CEED) on rural youth operations.

The Creating Opportunities for Rural Youth (CORY) Consortium includes Columbia Business School (CBS) in New York, Susterra, Inc. in Boston, the Trustees of the Phelps Stokes Fund headquartered in Washington, DC, the Global Youth Innovation Network and the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED) as the grant recipient and technical advisor

The grant will be implemented by CEED with technical support of the Columbia Business School (CBS) and Susterra, Inc., as subrecipients. Key national implementing partners in each country and three major regional institutions (Songhai Center, Ecobank and the Africa Women’s Development Fund) will also be involved in the implementation.

Credit: Press Release-IFAD

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Ghana launches first West African Farmer Helpline!

Posted on February 21, 2014 by

esoko helplineFeeding the nation and investing in our farmers is a key priority of Government and a critical driver for Ghana’s 2020 vision. Despite significant advances in technology, farmers remain vulnerable to climate change, drought, poor harvests, weed infestations and virulent pests. Farming techniques remain outdated, marketing costs too high, and incomes unacceptably low. There is a slow drift of young people from rural communities to the city as they see little future in agriculture. This has to change…

In a pioneering move, Esoko, a private agricultural information services company, with the support of USAID, is introducing a dedicated farmer helpline. For the first time, any farmer will be able to access the latest market prices and weather, or request tips on planting, harvesting, and diseases. They can call from any phone, with a standard rate and speak to one of their eight experts who cover more than 12 languages. It’s an easy, reliable source of information that farmers can access no matter their location.

Mark Davies, Esoko CEO believes Farmer Helpline is an essential complement to any type of SMS program being offered by Esoko and other service providers.

The Esoko farmer helpline is currently available on 1900 on Vodafone, MTN, and Airtel at a regular call rate. Tigo and Glo will be added later this year. Languages available are Dagbani, Mampruli, Twi, Kusaal, Frafra, Sissali, Dagaari, Wali, Ewe, Ga, Fante and Hausa.

Commodities covered include Maize, Rice, Soya, Sorghum, Tomatoes, Cassava, Yam, Mango, Sheanuts, and Cowpea.

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Africa Impact Economy Innovations Fund Grantees Announced

Posted on February 12, 2014 by

The Rockefeller and Tony Elumelu foundations have announced the inaugural cohort of Africa Impact Economy Innovations Fund (IEIF) grantees.

The fund, which is administered by the Global Impact Investing Network, was launched last spring to provide support to innovative organizations working to create jobs in underserved sectors, foster entrepreneurial ecosystems, and promote impact investing infrastructure on the continent. The seven recipients (and the countries in which they work) are Investisseurs & Partenaires (Senegal), which will use its grant to publish resources related to small and medium enterprise investments; Renew LLC (Ethiopia), which is working to develop an alternative approach for banks looking to conduct due diligence on SMEs; M.Lab East Africa (Kenya), which will use its grant to support various mobile phone ventures; the Policy and Economic Research Council (Tanzania), which will use the funds to assess the credit worthiness of underserved entrepreneurs; Doreo Partners (Nigeria), which will scale up its “Raise Out of Poverty” bond program for smallholder farmers; the GIMPA Centre for Impact Investing (Ghana), which will use the funds to hold educational seminars designed to raise awareness about impact investing; and SliceBiz (Ghana), which will use its grant to facilitate micro-investment crowdfunding efforts for start-ups.

“The IEIF grant will assist us to augment our portfolio of services with improved interventions for social enterprises and enable us increase the potential for success for start-ups that go through our incubation program,” said M.Lab team leader John Kieti.

“The business ideas we received through the [IEIF application process] reflect the extensive entrepreneurial potential that exists in Africa,” said Eme Essien Lore, senior associate director at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Africa regional office. “Our foundation continues to believe that impact investing can transform the development landscape across the continent, and we welcome opportunities such as the IEIF to prove that.”

credit: Rockefeller Foundation and Tony Elumelu Foundation Press Release 02/11/2014.

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Ripe for Change: The Promise of Africa’s Agricutural Transformation

Posted on January 30, 2014 by

A new ONE report, called Ripe for Change: The Promise of Africa’s Agricutural Transformation, calls on African governments to implement an “enhanced CAADP” package of policies to accelerate economic development in Africa through an African-led agricultural transformation agenda steered by the AU’s own CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme). The package of policy recommendations, was developed after a lengthy consultation process with African farmers and farmers associations from all over the continent.

The ONE Campaign also launched Do Agric, It Pays. This campaign is calling for African governments to commit to spending at least 10% of national budgets on effective agriculture investments, through transparent and accountable budgets. At the heart of the Do Agric campaign is an effort to push political leaders to adopt better policies that will boost productivity, increase incomes and help lift millions of Africans out of extreme poverty.

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2014 –> Wish to be an Agricultural Entrepreneur?

Posted on January 5, 2014 by

1. Are you self-motivated?

2. Can you plan and be well organized?

3. Are you goal-oriented?

4. Do you have problem solving skills?

5. Can you handle pressure?

6. Do you have a vision?

7. Do you have a business idea?

8. Are you passionate about your product or service?

9. Did you check if there is a market for your idea?

10. Are you willing to invest more than 8 hours per day on your business?

11. Have you considered how the business will impact your family?

12. Are you financially ready to take the step into self-employment?

Courtesy: Syecomp Business Services Ltd, Accra

    Expertise:

    i. GIS Survey and Mapping Consultancy
    ii. Agricultural Research and Knowledge Management Services
    iii. Training Services
    iv. Agribusiness Incubation

Posted in Young Entrepreneurs, Youth in Agriculture | Tagged , | 1 Comment

MCC Board Selects Countries Eligible for Compacts and Threshold Programs

Posted on December 11, 2013 by

MCC header-logoWashington, D.C.—At its quarterly meeting today, the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Board of Directors selected Lesotho as eligible to develop a proposal for a new compact. The Board also reselected five countries to continue developing compacts and two countries to continue developing Threshold Programs.

The Board selected Lesotho because it has consistently demonstrated a clear commitment to democratic governance and sound policies. A new compact with Lesotho offers MCC the opportunity to have a significant impact on reducing poverty and creating economic growth in the country.

“Throughout the development and implementation of its first compact, Lesotho has been a strong MCC partner,” MCC CEO Daniel W. Yohannes said. “We look forward to continuing this strong partnership and helping the Basotho people create a more prosperous future.”

Lesotho successfully completed a five-year, $363 million MCC compact in September 2013 that helped expand water supply for household and industrial use, strengthened the country’s health care system and removed barriers to foreign and local private sector investment. The Government of Lesotho demonstrated a strong commitment to the compact, and will have spent $50 million of its own money to complete construction and fund complementary investments.

Through the compact, MCC also supported the passage of landmark legislation that empowered Basotho women by ending the second-class status of married women and granting spouses equal rights.

The Board generally decides each December whether to select new compact and Threshold Partner countries, and whether to reselect those previously selected countries that are currently developing proposals for MCC investments. By law, the Board must consider three factors when selecting countries with which MCC will seek to enter into a compact: the extent to which a country meets or exceeds eligibility criteria, the opportunity to reduce poverty and generate economic growth in the country and the availability of funding.

MCC’s annual scorecards, which rely on third-party data to measure a country’s commitment to ruling justly, investing in its people and encouraging economic freedom, represent the best available individual measurements of policy performance. When choosing or reselecting partner countries, the Board also considers supplemental information to assess issues or recent events that may not have been captured by the scorecards.

After careful consideration of previously selected countries’ performance, the Board reselected Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, Niger, and Tanzania as eligible to continue development of their respective compact proposals.

The Board expressed strong concern that two of the countries, Liberia and Morocco, passed only nine indicators in their latest scorecards. The Board indicated it expects Liberia and Morocco to pass the scorecard before approving a compact with either country.

Two other countries currently developing compact proposals, Benin and Sierra Leone, were not reselected. The Board discussed the fact that those two countries did not pass MCC’s control of corruption indicator, which is a hard hurdle for passing the scorecard, and did not put them up for a vote on reselection. After also reviewing supplemental information on anti-corruption efforts in Benin and Sierra Leone, the Board urged continued but limited engagement with both countries and indicated it expects both countries to pass the control of corruption indicator before it would approve a compact with them.

“We are very concerned when a country does not pass the control of corruption indicator,” Yohannes said. “We recognize the efforts that the governments of Benin and Sierra Leone have undertaken to address corruption, and I can assure them that MCC is committed to helping those efforts succeed. I am hopeful that the continued and deepened efforts of both countries will be reflected in future performance on the control of corruption indicator. ”

The Board committed to further discussions about the agency’s selection process and criteria.

The Board also reselected Guatemala and Nepal as eligible to continue developing Threshold Programs.

More information about the Millennium Challenge Compact? Visit: http://www.mcc.gov

Contact: 202-521-3850

Email: info@mcc.gov

 

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Agricinghana Remembers Mandela-27 Inspirational Quotes

Posted on December 9, 2013 by

mandela 2

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the global statesman who delivered South Africa from the dark days of apartheid, died on Thursday, December 05, 2013 at aged 95. He died in the company of his family.

Time of Death: 8:50pm

We wish to share some lifelong inspirational words from him. May it inspire all of us in our day-to-day activities:

1. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

2. When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.

3. I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

4. I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.

5. A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.

6. It always seems impossible until it’s done.

7. For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

8. Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.

9. There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.

10. I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.

11. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front.

12. I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.

13. The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

14. There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

15. Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

16. As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.

17. If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

18. As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself… Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility.

19. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

20. Where you stand depends on where you sit.

21. Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like Slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.

22. One of the things I learned when I was negotiating was that until I changed myself, I could not change others.

23. It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.

24. A leader. . .is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not realizing that all along they are being directed from behind.

25. Courage is not the absence of fear — its inspiring others to move beyond it.

26. Appearances matter — and remember to smile.

27. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

May his soul Rest in Perfect Peace!  Damrifa Due Madiba!    Mandela

Photo credit: EPA/KIM Ludbrook

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