News
Youth as the salvation for cooperatives
Cooperatives worldwide are ageing, and the number of young farmers is decreasing. This poses a threat to the future of agriculture and food security. It is therefore crucial that cooperatives involve young people, as they bring fresh ideas and new ways of working. To stimulate youth participation, Agriterra has developed the 'Youth in Agribusiness' programme, which begins with a Kick-off workshop.
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Mangu Dairy's Transformation
A Partnership with Agriterra and USADF
By Noah Ngetich, Lobby and Grant Expert, FFT Project
A small-holder dairy cooperative in Kenya is poised to revolutionize its industry thanks to a strategic partnership with Agriterra and the United States Africa Development Foundation (USADF). Mangu Progressive Dairy Co-Operative Society, located in Gatundu North, Kiambu County, has secured a grant of EUR 89,930 to invest in milk pasteurization and value-added products.
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SACCOs enhancing women entrepreneurs (part 1)
Agriterra has been working closely with two SACCOs in Rwanda under the Farmer Focused Transformation (FFT) programme. These SACCOs - CPF Ineza and SACCO Impamba - have provided crucial support to women entrepreneurs in the Southern Province. With a budget allocated to 80 women’s projects across these two SACCOs, Agriterra aimed to empower women by offering lower-interest loans, promoting entrepreneurship and providing training on agribusiness finance. Additionally, these efforts included designing financial products tailored for women in agribusiness, which has significantly impacted the beneficiaries.
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Supporting women farmers in Rwanda
COAMANYA is a cooperative located in Kibirizi sector, Nyanza district, Rwanda. It is engaged in the production, collection, marketing and processing of maize as their main business activities. Initially formed as a farmer group in 2007, the cooperative was officially certified by the Rwanda Cooperative Agency (RCA) in 2011. The cooperative is composed by 1382 members, including 707 females.
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A Triumph of Persistence
Written by Elizabeth Gezahegn, Cooperative Advisor Ethiopia
Chercher Oda Bultum Union Secures 16 Hectares of Free Land for Dairy Expansion!
In the heart of Ethiopia, the Chercher Oda Bultum Farmers Cooperative Union has been a beacon of progress since its inception in 2005. Starting with just 62 primary cooperatives, the union has grown into a robust organisation with 178 member cooperatives representing over 74,257 families. What began with a modest capital of 714,000 birr has now blossomed into an entity with a capital base of 150 million birr.
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Strengthening smallholder farmers' resilience through cooperative efforts’
In the ASAL (Arid and Semi-Arid Lands) area of lower eastern Kenya, a remarkable success story has emerged from a cooperative that aggregates and markets cereals in a region that is faced with erratic rainfall and the crop-value chains that perform well are only pulses. This cooperative, driven by the vision of sustainable agriculture and community empowerment, has made significant strides with the support of Agriterra under the Acting Now project.
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Reducing agrochemical dependency through organic practices
Written by Dita Beshada, Junior Cooperative Advisor Ethiopia
Organic fertilisers are naturally produced materials that can be added to soil or plants to provide essential nutrients and support growth. Unlike inorganic (synthetic) fertilisers, which are derived from synthetic materials, organic fertilisers are sourced from naturally occurring biochemical processes. Common examples include animal waste (such as manure and slurry) and plant-based fertilisers like compost.
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Training and market connections produce happy rice growers
Written by Merveille Kakule Saliboko, communications consultant DR Congo
Thanks to Agriterra's training courses, the members of the ADPA cooperative are seeing their production increase significantly. By adapting the good farming practices they have learned, they use less seed to produce more rice. These good farming practices have been introduced through to the TRIDE project, Transition for Inclusive Development in Eastern DRC, implemented by Agriterra as part of its support for farming cooperatives.
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