AFC AND UN WOMEN KENYA TRAINS FARMERS IN BUSIA COUNTY

19th to 22nd March 2019. AFC in partnership with UN Women Kenya trained farmers in Busia County at AFC Busia Branch grounds. The training aimed at linking more women to financial services through AFC’s Women Affirmative Access Window (WAAW), an innovative initiative to reach out to women through training and information sharing to bridge the gap of financial exclusion. The four day training was divided into two groups; Cohort 1 comprised of 87 Women and 42 Men while Cohort II comprised of 88 Women and 28 Men. The training focused on financial literacy, money, budgeting & savings, record keeping, farming as a business, HIV/AIDS, case studies/experience sharing, gender mainstreaming and life skills, marketing and distribution, loan management and how to make a business plan. Speaking during the meeting, the Managing Director Mr. Lucas Meso (MBS), pointed out that the awareness creation, training and linkage to AFC’s financial products aims at demystifying agricultural finance and increasing the male and female farmers’ knowledge on agribusiness and financial services. “We expect this to result into increased loan uptake especially by women and better loan repayment”. Head of Operations Mrs. Millicent Omukaga requested the women to form groups to enable them access finances from the Corporation. This will enable them to be self-reliant. She also encouraged them to venture into business and commercial farming. On her part, Ms. Queen Katembu, the UN Women Kenya Team Leader on Women Economic Empowerment with a focus on Climate Smart Agriculture, hailed the partnership with AFC saying “I am excited about this partnership because I am convinced with more women accessing credit to improve their agribusiness, they will have more income in their hands which is proven to improve overall household wellbeing - nutrition, health and education benefits for the household members and in general contribute to SDG 1, 2 and 5 and realization of the Big Four agenda.” The event was attended by 245 farmers drawn from Busia County and 78 of them expressed interest on AFC’s loans worth Kshs. 10 million. In the subsequent months, AFC in partnership with UN Women Kenya, will hold similar trainings in Eastern, Coast and Mt Kenya regions. A minimum of 100 farmers will be selected per region, comprising fifty percent (50%) women and youth