Yacory Ocaña
Yacory is a youth agent in Las Tirias de Jaén, Peru. Yacory grew up on a farm, but she notes that back then, her parents didn’t receive any support and advice. Now, she enjoys being part of a network of Youth Agents who support the community’s farmers in improving their income. However, many other young people in the area have moved to the cities, away from the rural area and farms, less aware of the earning’s potential.
Yacory works across three main areas: helping farmers to sell their produce by linking them with buyers on the FarmDirect app; training farmers on the Croppie app which supports accurate yield predictions; and supporting farmers to increase the range of produce they grow and sell.
As a Youth Agent, she has enabled farmers make further income from their kitchen gardens and new crops, in addition to coffee. By helping farmers make the most out of the FarmDirect app, they make new relationships with local shops and restaurants and Yacory helps with the getting the crops to the buyers.
There’s lots of learning with the job, with Yacory relishes. She enjoys understanding how to manage bio-gardens and to grow a variety of crops and then teach this to farmers. With her new knowledge, Yacory’s been able to grow her own vegetables and earn additional money too.
Bringing the Croppie app to farmers is a rewarding experience. She sees first-hand how useful the farmers find Croppie’s ability to count coffee cherries on the trees, which is less reliable when done manually. She notes, “It’s encouraging to hear their feedback. With the app, they can make better investment decisions on their farm.”
Her experience as a Youth Agent has given insight into the opportunities for earning money in agriculture. Because of the earning potential and the enjoyment she gets from her role, she intends to stay in the sector once she’s finished her degree. Her motivation to help farmers in her local community coupled with the earning potential of growing and selling her own crops means she’s excited for the future.
