My name is Deborah Ishaya.
I live in Ikara Local Government.
My husband's name is Ishaya Danfulani.
We have five children.
I am also a farmer.
I didn't know how to farm maize.
I also didn't know anything about irrigation farming.
Before I joined the MARKETS II organization,
to be frank, we were in a terrible life.
We couldn't take care of our domestic needs.
To an extent that we found it difficult to
allow our children to continue their education.
Some dropped out because of financial constraints.
We couldn't farm enough food to survive.
Each year we farm
but the produce does not last until the next rainy season.
- MARKETS is a demand driven project
that trains farmers to produce
what is in demand by the market.
At the same time, improved
in their methods of production.
We hold what we call a demo farm,
which we demonstrate
all these best practices
on one field.
I was trained on how to plot my rows,
how to harrow and how to plant.
Before, I was a peasant farmer. I could only farm 15 to 20 bags.
Now, after being trained by MARKETS II,
I'm able to farm 75 bags of maize.
And 51 bags of rice with each harvest.
- In Nigeria agriculture,
women play so many major roles
in production.
With the incoming of MARKETS II
to empower these women,
these women produce quality maize.
They are providing employment to others
who will do the threshing, who will do the processing.
This participation of MARKETS II
and this program,
I believe it has really empowered the women
to do better for themselves
and to also give them a better life and better living.
- We have seen a lot of change and progress.
One of them is my good outfit as you can see here.
My children also wear good clothes.
They can go to school.
One of them has gone to the Federal College of Education (FCE).
One of them has been recruited as a police officer.
There were no such things before.
We have experienced a lot of progress.
Now we enjoy a lot in our home. We have enough good food.
- Information management
is significant to the success of the project.
So, moving to Microsoft Dynamics 365
will no doubt bring
a surge of innovation
to the way information is managed in Chemonics.
- I thank almighty God
for acquiring this knowledge.
To be sincere, I say thank you very much.