Leadership & Service Narrative

For the past five years, my father, a farmer in my hometown, Kishi, Oyo State, who has farmed for over three decades, has repeatedly complained about low crop yields caused by erratic and unstable rainfall. This problem is not peculiar to him; Kishi is a largely agricultural town where most people depend on farming, either as their main livelihood or as a supplementary source of income. Growing up there, I witnessed noticeable shifts in weather patterns over the years, and I began to understand how deeply climate change was affecting our community’s way of life.

Motivated by this realisation, a year ago, I carried out some research and decided to help farmers better understand and adapt to their new reality. With my father’s support, I initiated a project called “ShiftyTimes” in collaboration with local farmers—particularly the older generation struggling to adjust to current challenges—and some of my friends. Our goals, as documented on our webpage, were threefold:

1. To train farmers in low-cost climate adaptation techniques such as rainwater harvesting, mulching, and the use of drought-tolerant seed varieties.
2. To organise small working groups among farmers to encourage knowledge-sharing and collective purchasing of inputs to reduce costs.
3. To advocate for improved access to credit and stronger government policies that promote sustainable practices.

As a co-leader of this effort, I organised a workshop that brought together over 50 farmers to learn about climate change, its local impacts, and practical adaptation strategies. The session included hands-on demonstrations, introductions, and the distribution of some sample drought-tolerant seeds to participants. Moving forward, I plan to coordinate ShiftyTimes in collaboration with other local NGOs with similar goals to establish micro-credit options, and set up a monitoring team to track adoption and address emerging barriers.

This experience has boosted my confidence and strengthened my leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills. It has also taught me that true sustainability begins at the grassroots by empowering local communities to take ownership of change. Through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme, I hope to expand my capabilities to craft and implement meaningful climate-related solutions through this initiative, for rural communities that depend on ecosystem services for their livelihoods.