Dear Sir/Madam,
I am reacting to the discussion on the FAO Group on the participation of African Youth in Agriculture. Due to the very high unemployment rate in Africa, the job market does not seem lucrative again for African Youth. What is lucrative today for the African youth is independent empowerment and Agriculture provides a viable sector for enabling this.
The future of young African agripreneurs is very bright but for this to be possible, the FAO has to compel the public and private sectors in African states (as well as the international committee) to invest in the Agricultural sector and provide incentives that will help young African agripreneurs succeed in this sector. Much of these incentives should be in the form of soft loans that can help they embark on their agripreneurs projects. Legislation should also be made at state and regional level to allow and sustain this effort.. Without such a strategy, the agripreneurs plan for young Africans will fail just as the employment plan has continued to be a lame sector in African states.
The FAO mandate in the need to enable African youth participate in Agriculture as an alternative socio-economic empowerment methodology for African youth is in line with the expectancies of the African Union Commission Agenda 2063. Hence, the policy division of the African Youth Union Commission is interested in collaborating with the FAO and other organizations to making this strategy work for African youth. We look forward to such collaborations.
Thanking you again.
Best regards
Amb. Perry Ndubuisi Idejiora-Kalu
Head of Policy Division
African Youth Union Commission
Dr. Ndubuisi Idejiora-Kalu