Corteva, IFC, and SAFIA Launch Global Agri-Entrepreneurship Academy
Corteva Agriscience in partnership with International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Sustainable Agriculture Foundation International Association (SAFIA) launched the Global Agri-Entrepreneurship Academy (GAEA) to enable 5 lakh rural entrepreneurs and benefit 100 million farmers across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
The project seeks to deal with some of the major issues that affect smallholder farmers, such as minimal access to quality agricultural inputs, new technology, and sophisticated farming information. GAEA will conduct specialized training and mentorship to fill service gaps in agriculture.
SAFIA Executive Director Simon Winter emphasized that 23,000 rural entrepreneurs have already been mobilized to create village-level employment and enhance farmers' livelihoods. The new initiative will upscale these efforts by channeling rural youth and women into successful agri-entrepreneurship.
Initial partners have been secured in Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Tanzania, and Cote d'Ivoire. A memorandum of understanding has been signed to harmonize the approach to rural agri-entrepreneur development.
Anuja Kadian of Corteva Agriscience stressed the need to empower rural entrepreneurs with good management skills, financial prudence, and capital availability to make them successful.
As a registered non-profit foundation in Switzerland, GAEA is funded by the Government of Japan and works to improve agricultural value chains while fostering sustainable rural economies. It draws on the 40 years of experience that SAFIA has had in promoting smallholder agriculture, raising productivity and resilience in the sector.
