ACFA: The Field Is Set For The MATCH To Kick-Start

This ACFA community farming scheme is expected to create a Spotlight on Opportunities for mainly Rural Youth. And it will highlight some of the critical issues facing the women and other farmers in the rural areas. it will also highlight the roles stakeholders must play in order for more young people living in rural areas to have access to (formal and informal) employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. Since this will break the cycles of poverty and transform rural economies. 

If the various stakeholders in the agricultural industry support this development, they have lots to gain from working to support the youths. Additionally, this point up will convene a diverse group of stakeholders, ranging from youth development specialists, to agricultural specialists, to value chain specialists. These distinct communities of stakeholders will tackle complex challenges together, often for the first time, and define next step needed to be taken to increase the knowledge and technological advancement of the various participants/beneficiaries while promoting cross-sector collaboration.

For the purpose of this discussion, “rural” will refer to the non-urban context, including peri-urban contexts, and include both agriculture and non-agricultural economic activities that take place in these areas. Selected presenters are asked to explain the specific context to which their expertise and programmatic example(s) pertain (e.g. very remote rural, peri-urban, etc.), and how transferable the lessons learned are to other contexts and when working with different cohorts of young people (e.g. different age ranges, socio-economic backgrounds, etc.) in rural areas.

Part of the focus will be on agriculture (both on-farm and off-farm); and the Spotlight also looks at the opportunities and challenges associated with youth employment in non-agricultural sectors such as tourism, manufacturing, and services. This is a critical issue as agriculture alone is unlikely to provide enough employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people.

All Co-operative Farmers Association (ACFA) Creating Opportunities for Urban/Rural Youth

        All Co-operative Farmers Association (ACFA) Youth economic opportunity programming has increasingly endeavored to reach young people in rural areas, in particular to stem the tides of migration, reduce rural poverty, and to encourage agricultural development. While there is rising in the labour market, the organization is expanding on research to obtain the desirable experience to help in addressing this trend. 

         The management team of ACFA knows that there is much to learn, therefore if these Practitioners, policymakers, funders, researchers, and educators largely recognize that the characteristics, and purpose to help stop Urban Rural Migration is a needs to aid young people in urban and remote areas identify their distinctive role in making the laid down policies work. 

        To rectify the problems previously experience in this regard, this research conducted and being practicalized by All Cooperative Farmers Association, serving as agent in this respect will serve as field-tested tools, and innovative approaches that can inform the development of higher impact and more productive initiatives that can lead to more jobs and business opportunities for the youths, women and other unemployed, in the rural areas.

ACFA: Agriculture Development Research Education

The proposed Agriculture Development Research Education (ADReD) is to be used to propel the affiliates of the All Cooperative Farmers Association, and other farmers group in the state.

This program will be used to the long speculated Agriculture Development Centre in the state which in turn will help ACFA to provide sustainable agricultural expansion that will lead o increased farming and employment opportunities for mainly the un-employed youths in the state and the host local government area, respectively.

This will create opportunities for the beneficiaries to make profit. (Both the peasant, farmers and the commercial farmers). This program will also help to cement the relationship between the big time farmers and their counterpart who have not yet been privileged to make agriculture a real-time business venture.  In the instance that this Association intends to co-opt all farmers to embrace the organic farming, shows that henceforth, the farming industry will help to give good fundamental care for our air, water and soil, and improved standard of living for the people. 

In recent time, the business of agriculture has changed significantly. The cost of farming has gone up a lot. Fertilizer, seeds, crop protection, energy, and machineries are not a thing the common farmers can boost of, compared to the past years.  This is among the reason that combine farming could be the only solution to making a headway in this business.

With the high cost involved in the farming business and unstable commodity prices, farmers have to deal with fluctuating net income or even a loss over time. To stay and compete with the challenging of farming therefore, farmers need to organize themselves into legal and authentic Organizations/Associations or co-operative societies. This becomes very important in order to succeed in applying for agricultural Loans/Grants, or other support towards boosting the agricultural business in the state.

GOFTA PIG FARM

ACFA Leading the way for a prosperous Farming in Edo State.

ACFA having resolve to promote the real cooperative spirit among her members, has embarked on a teach the trainer campaign. A pattern developed to train youths who will in turn be sent out to train other about the proper cooperative system like that, which was exhibited by the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers.