If you asked Omar what he thought he would be doing for work a few years ago, the answer probably wouldn’t have been farming. Like many young people in Senegal, he moved to another country to seek other work opportunities.
Last week, MEDA participated in International Development Week by highlighting the critical issues that matter to Canadians and those who work in international development.
This week, MEDA will examine several key themes, including the role of localization, biodiversity, gender equality and social inclusion, and market systems.
A recent episode of the “Let’s Talk Agriculture” podcast focused on Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) and included an engaging conversation with MEDA’s Technical Director, GESI, Jennifer Denomy. Jennifer Denomy and podcast host Sharon Idahosa explore why GESI in agriculture matters, the challenges that exist, and how gender equality benefits businesses, farms, and the world in general.
It would be simple for most development organizations, including the UN, to say that biodiversity matters to everyone. This is why most high-income countries, particularly those involved in COP15, provide investment support to tackle biodiversity problems. For lower to middle-income countries such as the Philippines, the question is, does biodiversity matter to political leaders?
Agriculture pays the bills in Kenya, supporting 80% of the country’s population. However, small businesses and farmers in Kenya often lack access to the business supports they need to prosper. Without access to technology, agricultural inputs, business services, and finance businesses and farmers in Kenya struggle to get by. Women-led businesses often face even stricter challenges.
We’re pleased to announce that we’ve joined the podcast universe! Four MEDA staff members have contributed to the “Let’s Talk Agriculture” podcast that focuses on gender equality and social inclusion, agricultural financing, climate finance, and how to build inclusive agrifood market systems [Insert link].
When you subscribe, you’ll be able to hear the following:
Zakaria Isshaku, episode 6 – Building an inclusive agrifood market system [Insert podcast link and photo]
Agri-food market system expert Zak Issahaku breaks down what agri-food market systems are and their value to communities worldwide.
Dennis Tessier, episode 7 – Climate finance for sustainable agriculture [Insert podcast link and photo]
In this episode, Dennis explores how climate finance can play an essential role in mitigating the effects of climate change on the environment and communities in the Global South. This episode also covers MEDA’s services to its clients to adopt environmentally sustainable agricultural practices.
Regina Nyakinyua, episode 8 – On innovations for inclusive agricultural financing [Insert podcast link and photo]
Regina talks about the major challenges of agricultural finances and the current opportunities. The episode also covers MEDA’s unique approach to agri-finance.
Jennifer Denomy, episode 9 – Gender Equality and Social Inclusion [Insert podcast link and photo]
In this episode, Jennifer talks in detail about the value of gender equality and social inclusion in agriculture and how this will benefit communities, and the challenges and ways that local business owners can use to overcome gender equality challenges.
Stay in the loop! Remember to sign up for “Let’s talk Agriculture” for the latest podcast episodes.
The Storehouse [Insert link] has more content for you to explore. Read more to find out how MEDA provides those living in poverty with technical assistance and decent work opportunities to create prosperity for themselves, their families, and their communities.
There is a long-standing tension between international development assistance and local knowledge, agency, ownership, and decision-making. Government commitments to aid, fundraising efforts, technical assistance, and the distribution of international agency staff between “headquarters” and “country offices” has been the subject of debate, criticism, and much-needed organizational change.
This December, the 15th Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meets in Montreal to create a mechanism that enables people, like this rice farmer, to make decisions that do not result in biodiversity loss but rather protect and restore it. The main objective is to adopt a 10-year biodiversity framework that will advance, protect, and sustainably use the biodiversity of our planet.
Today, MEDA released its “Farmers’ Economic Advancement Through Seedlings (FEATS)” project Learning Series papers. This learning series contains valuable insights from the FEATS project, which ran for seven years, concluding in the latter half of 2022. FEATS aimed to improve the economic well-being of women and men farmers in tree crop industries in Ghana by providing women and men farmers and enterprises with the finance, technology, and technical assistance they need to build thriving farms and businesses.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates is an international economic development organization that creates business solutions to poverty.
MEDA International is a Canadian non-share capital not-for-profit corporation incorporated under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates is a 501(c)(3) status non-profit organization in the United States: EIN 23-7398678.
Mennonite Economic Development Associates of Canada is a registered charity in Canada: No. 107 691 057 RR0001.
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