Gender and Youth

María Isabel turned a childhood legacy into a mission. When climate change threatened her cocoa farm, the Asómbrate programme offered the solution: agroforestry. Her success in achieving climate resilience and long-term productivity shows how empowerment, tradition, and sustainability can power rural development.

In Bungoma County, Kenya, the transformation of a single coffee farm is creating ripple effects across the entire community. By adopting organic practices and sharing her knowledge, Jemimah Nelima Chemiat has helped her grandfather significantly increase his yields and restore the health of his land. Her guidance has inspired neighboring farmers to improve their methods and encouraged women and youth to take a more active role in the coffee value chain. Through these efforts, Jemimah is demonstrating that sustainable agriculture can be both profitable and empowering.

Following eight years of an unfruitful job hunt after university, Frank Brain reluctantly turned to the oil palm farm that he had inherited from his parents. A serendipitous invitation to the NISCOPS programme equipped Frank with climate-smart and sustainable farming practices that dramatically improved yields. Now he sees the potential in oil palm and inspiring other young farmers to see a future in agriculture.