Eliminate Poverty NOW’s mission is to empower Africa’s extreme poor, especially women, to lift themselves out of poverty. To truly empower people our programs must become self-sustaining. That’s why we’re so excited by the celebration held this past week in Niger with the women participating in the Farmers of the Future program.
We first introduced FOF to 4 villages on the outskirts of Niamey, Niger’s capital. These were the pilot sites – our learning laboratory - where we launched and steadily refined how to teach women and students to approach farming as a business. It represented a whole new way to think about and practice farming.
Now after several years of providing training and technical support, these amazingly hard-working women are ready to support themselves. And last week they celebrated becoming truly independent “Farmers of the Future!”
The women are ready to take the knowledge and experience they have gained to become self-sustaining entrepreneurs, supporting their families with a better quality of life – better diet, access to higher education, better medical care and improved living conditions to name a few.
We wish them good luck for a bright future!