Breaking ground as a new kind of entrepreneur
Martha didn’t plan to become a cocoa farmer. She wanted an office job. But when her parents could not afford to pay school fees beyond junior high, she chose the family business.
For several years, she worked alongside her parents, and later her husband, to build a thriving business. Her husband’s death after a decade of marriage was a tough blow, but she pushed on, determined to build a strong future for their five children. She now runs the farm on her own with the help of seasonal laborers.
The last few years have been challenging for cocoa farmers in Ghana as trees have aged and production has fallen. Martha has persevered though, earning the title of Ghana’s most enterprising woman farmer in 2016.
Now she’s turning to new technology for help: a digital Farm Development Plan to help guide how she invests in her farm. Developed by Grameen Foundation and partners, the digital tool allows local agricultural agents to collect financial, production and other data from farming families and then create customized 7-year plans for them.
She still needs access to financing to fully follow her Farm Development Plan, but for Martha, it’s the best road map to give her children a better life and secure her family’s legacy. Her eldest son is already studying agriculture at university so that he can take over the business when she retires.
Be part of her breakthrough.