Second year of graduates

The Agri-Women's Development Trust (AWDT) is celebrating a second successful year with 14 graduates from its 2012 Escalator agricultural leadership programme.

The 10-month programme aims to create prospective future leaders with the skills and capability to govern and lead agricultural organisations and communities.

Federated Farmers Ruapehu provincial president and 2012 Escalator graduate Lyn Neeson said it gave her more awareness of what she can accomplish for agriculture.

"Federated Farmers opened a lot of doors for me, but Escalator has shown me how to work more effectively and get better outcomes from those opportunities."

Topics include leadership, governance, strategy, finance, communication, critical thinking and human resources.

"Escalator picks up these women who are doing a lot in their own areas and makes them realise their skills can translate into the national agricultural arena," Neeson says.