Google Announces USD 900 K Grant to train Kenyan Farmers
Over the next one year the digital skills of 100k Kenyan farmers is set to change following the announcement of a USD 900 K training grant by Google.org in partnership with One Acre Fund. This training will help the farmers acquire top tech skills necessary for them to tap into knowledge and connections available in the digital world to transform their livelihoods through increased production. One Acre Fund which is based in the Western Kenya town of Kakamega has already gained eleven years of experience in providing training to small scale farmers in this area in addition to giving them products and services on credit. The mode and depth of the Google training was not immediately disclosed.
This development is in line with Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta whose big-four agenda includes boosting food security. Farmers’ ability to access information, keep records on farm production and market access will go a long way in impacting skills that would help them increase their productivity, connect with peers, access latest farming information and even fetch better prices for their produce. In its website, One Acre Fund reports that more than 50 million smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa are locked in annual cycles of hunger because they’re unable to grow enough food to feed their families. This Training is therefore an important step in improving their livelihood through necessary digital skills that are part of today’s modern world.
Image credit: One Acre Fund
