On June 3, 2020, the launch of an educational grant program for female farmers living in rural areas, called "TalentA", was announced in Ukraine. The program was initiated and funded by the international agricultural R&D company Corteva Agriscience and supported by the United Nations Population Fund, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Center for Corporate Social Responsibility, and All-Ukrainian Council of Female Farmers NGO.
The program aims to expand educational opportunities and access to finance for women living in rural areas and engaged in agriculture, and envisages holding an online training hub TalentA, where 20 female farmers, who have passed the competitive selection, will attend free intense training course under professional experts and mentors guidance. At the end of the training, the program participants will compete for targeted grants that Corteva Agriscience will provide in accordance with recently announced corporate sustainability goals for those winning projects that will focus on improvement of the food security of communities addressing respective needs by overcoming hunger, providing access to drinking water, supporting responsible consumption, combating climate change and preserving ecosystems.
The total grant funding is $12,000 and will be distributed among the winning projects as follows:
• 1st place – $5,000
• 2nd place – $4,000
• 3rd place – $3,000
The training plan is based on actual needs of female farmers which were identified during in-depth interviews with representatives of the target audience in April 2020. It is based on the design thinking method – approach of creative problem solving which will help participants to better understand themselves and their business, generate new ideas and projects, learn faster and implement new knowledge and skills.
Ukraine has become the second country to implement the TalentA program. In 2019, Corteva Agriscience together with the Federation of Rural Women's Associations (FADEMUR), launched this educational and innovative project in Spain for women innovators engaged in agriculture. In Spain, the winning project received financial support from Corteva Agriscience, and the authors of the two finalist projects have been trained in a program prepared by FADEMUR in collaboration with Corteva. The program debut was very successful and it was therefore agreed to launch the project in Ukraine providing access to training and grant funds to more participants.
Anna Babich, Corporate Communications Manager – Central and Eastern Europe, Corteva Agriscience:
“By initiating the TalentA program, Corteva Agriscience supports our corporate sustainability goals for the benefit of communities and is guided by a number of goals. First, to enhance the awareness and ability of rural women, in particular women farmers, in the context of entrepreneurship, access to finance and information by using modern communication means. Secondly, to implement such educational program that would help women to develop, modernize their business, make it competitive, productive and creative, ensuring its sustainability and positive dynamics. And third, to contribute to improving food and nutrition security of communities and address their needs by providing grants to the winners. Corteva Agriscience is sincerely grateful to all partners for their support and provided expertise, which makes it possible to achieve stated goals of the program and to contribute to the development of our communities."
Pavlo Zamostian, Assistant Representative of the United Nations Population Fund in Ukraine:
"Every third woman in Ukraine lives in a rural area. Research shows that women and girls in rural areas face discrimination in access to decision-making, employment, healthcare, education and other basic services. Therefore, we as representatives of the United Nations Population Fund welcome the empowerment of women working in agriculture and support Corteva's initiative to provide funding for better projects. Such business initiatives help to support women and provide them with additional opportunities to fulfill their potential and economic independence.”
Mykhailo Malkov, Deputy Coordinator of FAO in Ukraine:
“One of the priorities of the National Strategy on Agriculture and Rural Development is to create conditions for the meaningful participation of rural women in economic life, as well as to promote opportunities for young people and women through the creation of family farms. FAO recognizes the wide range of roles that women play in agriculture and rural development, their potential in effecting positive changes. Achievement of the food and nutrition security, increase of agricultural productivity and improvement of life quality in rural areas depend on the elimination of social and economic inequalities between men and women."
Maryna Saprykina, Chairman of the Board of the Center for CSR Development:
"We have been developing corporate social responsibility in Ukraine for over a decade in particular on gender equality issues and creation of conditions for entrepreneurship development. We believe that only through the concerted efforts of companies, state and public we can introduce sustainable changes. We are happy to support the implementation of the TalentA program, and we hope that the synergy of partners' efforts will help female entrepreneurs to successfully fulfill their potential in agriculture."
Liudmyla Kliebanova, Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Council of Female Farmers:
“The TalentA program provides a unique opportunity for the All-Ukrainian Council of Female Farmers NGO to achieve the organization's strategic goals in the development of key services and new projects. Thanks to the program, the organization will be able to better understand and professionally represent the interests of its members, to work on active involvement of women farmers in new sources of funding for their own initiatives implementation aimed at supporting the competitiveness of Ukrainian women farmers in new realities. As a partner of the TalentA program, the All-Ukrainian Council of Female Farmers NGO learns new required information about innovative models of the women's entrepreneurship development and establishment of a constructive dialogue with the authorities in order to form a gender responsive policy to improve the local business environment in rural communities."
About TalentA program
Who can become a TalentA participiant?
Women engaged in agriculture and living in rural areas, regardless of status and scope of activities, who are willing to work on development projects and committed to make their business sustainable, dynamic and competitive, as well as to contribute to the development of the communities in which they live and work.
How to apply for the competition?
From June 3 to 14, 2020 complete the online registration form of the program on www.talenta.org.ua
The registration of participants will close on June 14, 2020.
The winners of the grant competition will be invited to the Award Ceremony, which will take place on the World Rural Women's Day – on October 15, 2020 in Kyiv.
For more information, visit www.talenta.org.ua, and follow the TalentA Program on Facebook.
TalentA program initiator and coordinator:
International Agricultural R&D Company Corteva Agriscience
TalentA program partners:
The United Nations Population Fund
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Center for Corporate Social Responsibility
All-Ukrainian Council of Female Farmers NGO
TalentA program media partners:
General media partner – ZERNO magazine
Special media partner – agrarian information agency Agravery.com
Business media partner – BIZNES magazine
Online media partner – Ekonomichna Pravda
TalentA program organizational partner:
Action Global Communications Agency
