An integrated farm management company – Alluvial Agriculture in partnership with Mastercard Foundation is set to train 50 women in Nigeria in the Tractor Operations Training Activity under the Alluvial’s Community Block Farming Project to develop the skills of young women and make them successful entrepreneurs.
According to Alluvial, the objective of the training is to facilitate the inclusion of young women in tractor operations, a male-dominated career as part of efforts to create decent work for young women in the high-demand aspect of the agriculture value chain.
The training is in line with the Young Africa Works strategy of Mastercard Foundation to deliver dignified and fulfilling jobs for 10 million young Nigerians by 2030, out of which 70% are women with a focus on Agriculture, Digital and Creative Economies.
The training is also expected to equip the young women with the skills and right tools to successfully manage a tractor operations business.
Speaking on the project, the ESG and Commercial Manager, Alluvial Agriculture, Naona Usoroh stated that 50 women would be fully sponsored to benefit from the capacity enhancement activity.
“In addition, the beneficiaries will be able to access post-training work opportunities on any of Alluvial’s various community block farms where mechanization services are required. Also, beneficiaries who complete the training will be presented with a Certificate of Completion”, she said.
Commenting on the selection process for the beneficiaries, Usoroh stated that applications were made open to young women aged between 18 and 35, resident in Nigeria and closed on May 17, 2021. Successful applicants would also undergo a 3-week long boot camp.
She noted that the training is in line with the vision of Alluvial Agriculture to impact directly 2,000,000 farmers across Africa over the next five years.
Through the Alluvial-Mastercard Foundation partnership, intervention inputs will be provided and mechanization services to 65,000 small-scale farming enterprises (80% women, youth) in clustered farming communities. Farmers will access productivity-enhancing training, affordable inputs, mechanization services, extension support and markets, which were inaccessible due to COVID-19 restrictions or supply chain disruptions.
