Entrepreneurial Endeavors Made Possible Through Innovative Agriculture

For some smallholder farmers, agriculture is the main means of earning a living and supporting a family. For others, like Anne Marie Gueye, agriculture provides the opportunity to strengthen and grow existing entrepreneurial pursuits.

As a tailor in her village of Sing Boyar, Anne Marie—wife and mother of 3—wanted to grow her business and “have a large tailor’s workshop” but lacked the capital to do so. Having cultivated rice in the past, Anne Marie thought agriculture might be a good avenue for earning additional revenue which she could invest in her business. But with access to very little land and lacking access to quality seeds due to geographic constraints, Anne Marie was having difficulty imagining how she could raise crops. “To be a good farmer you have to have courage,” she said, and so she continued exploring her options despite this series of challenges.

After hearing about the high-quality products myAgro delivers right to her village, Anne Marie consulted her local Village Entrepreneur for ideas. Knowing that women like Anne Marie often have less land to cultivate, myAgro includes some smaller packages amongst their offerings, unlike most other traditional seed and fertilizer sources. These smaller, more affordable packages meant Anne Marie could purchase a hibiscus package that could be interplanted with her brother’s peanut crop. “The delivery is well organized. I’m very happy and it was very easy” she says. 

Recounting her success growing with myAgro, Anne Marie was proud to share that she had been able to “buy a machine for [her] tailor’s workshop,” adding “that’s why I signed up with myAgro!” 

Smallholder farmers—especially women farmers like Anne Marie—face a number of challenges when trying to improve their livelihoods through agriculture. Targeting those specific challenges through innovations like mobile layaway, specially designed packages, and local delivery, myAgro assists farmers in increasing their income so that they can invest in their families and their careers.