b'asked & answered INSPIRING INNOVATIONAnd then we know therefore that for Africa, agriculture can be a job for the future as long as we are thinking creatively.And what are the other jobs that come along with that? Because, like you PHOTO COURTESY OF HELLO TR AC TOR said, when youre talking about employment in agriculture, it doesnt mean you have to be on the land. When you look at the value chain, like the horticultural value chain, cold storage is critical. And in Africa, that is nonexistent at the farm level, right? Its interesting. Think about how much farmers [lose] TOP and address the challenge ofHello Tractor. Africa has theon a daily basis because they Through abringing youth and technologylowest number of tractorsdo not have the appropriate tractor sharing mobile phonetogether with agriculture. available per hectare in thestorage, or they have to application,world. Farmers cannot affordforcefully sell their produce Hello Tractor helps farmersLets talk about technology.to buy tractors. Farmers dobecause theyre afraid if they modernize farmWhat does that mean in termsnot even have equipment fordont itll [spoil]. Now, [think labor by bookingof the work youre doing? planting [or] plowing. And weabout] the role alternative a machine for as long as they needThere is arable land. There isknow what happens to theenergy sources, like solar, at a price pointa growing middle class. Thereproductivity per hectare for acan play in providing cold they can pay. is a growing market. Youfarmer whos using the manualstorage on the farm side. actually have a market thatprocess to do all of that. So,One of the organizations can sustainably provide jobs.Hello Tractor is bringing in anthat we have been speaking And were not talking aboutUber model for [hiring a] tractor.with is called ColdHubs. And farm level jobs alone. WereI think its the ability to risewhat this entrepreneur is doing talking about jobs across thebeyond the conventional wayis using solar power to solve the value chainprocessing,to solve problems, creatingproblem of storage at the farm transportation. We nownew [solutions] that alsolevel, ensuring that a farmer need to unlock the potentialcreate new jobs. And for us at[can store produce] over a of the agricultural sector.Heifer, weve seen so muchperiod of one week or more and Technologycan transformof what happens at the farmstill be able to demand the same the way the agricultural sectorlevel.What were trying to dopricing. When you look at that is perceived by the averagethrough our AYuTe programsingle entrepreneur, you think young African [and] open upis create jobs for the future inabout the impact he is making opportunities where we did notthe agriculture sector. Theresat the farm level on farmer realize we have opportunitiesa lot of talk about what willincome. But the business [also] before. For example, one of thehappen in the next 10 years inrequires the hiring of young companies that participatedthe world, and the next 20 years.people to manage each of the in the [AYuTe] competition isAgriculture will always be here.cold storage [units]. It also 18| SPRING 2022'