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In the framework of the Africa Food Systems Forum  Summit 2023, held in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, from 5 to 8 September2023, 12 agripreneurs from across the African continent were shortlisted to participate in the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize. Innovation, market potential, social and environmental impact were among the criteria of selection. The competition, organized by Generation Africa, aims at supporting agripreneurial ecosystem and providing financial and technical support to young African, in order to unlock their potential and accompany them from ideation to sustainable business implementation. This year, the contest gathered creative and promising sustainable innovations across the continent to support the transformation and regeneration of agrifood systems. Martin Dainbaquee, a Sierra Leonean participant supported by the FAO Green Jobs for Rural Youth Employment (GJRYE) project, was one of the four Impact Award Winners. Thanks to his innovative high-capacity solar-powered poultry egg incubator and high-quality feed formula, Martin is tackling several needs in the egg and poultry industry including over-dependence on foreign imports.

From local issues to green and innovative solutions 

In Sierra Leone, an estimated 33 percent of youth are not in education, employment or training (NEET). Young people, especially those residing in rural areas, often struggle to access decent employment opportunities. When employment is available, it is often precarious, poorly remunerated, and even hazardous. This is particularly true in Kono, a rural area characterized by a small-scale and dangerous mining industry and subsistence farming. This is Martin hometown,  where he designed the incubator, together with Emmanuel Gborie founder of the Yormatah Youth Farm Association, a youth-led innovation centre for young farmers. The eco-friendly rechargeable incubator emerged as a local innovation to unlock the production potential of the poultry sector in the district of Kono and in the country. 

Both egg and poultry value chains are highly underdeveloped in Sierra Leone. An estimated 75 percent of eggs consumed nationally are imported as the supply of quality eggs remains limited in many regions of the country. One of the main reasons being the lack of quality, local, and affordable poultry feed as well as a regular supply of day-old chicks. When imports were banned during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, access to eggs was even more challenging. 

In this context, with the support of the Green Entrepreneurship Track under the Green Jobs for Rural Youth Employment Project (GJ4RYE), Martin’s idea of a eco-friendly egg incubator materialized into a prototype with a breeding capacity of 150 birds. Since their involvement in the GJ4RYE project, Martin and Emmanuel have taken part in a series of soft and technical training sessions on different value chains such as sustainable poultry farming and have received mentorship support together with seed resources to ensure the economic viability and environmental sustainability of their business.  

At its current stage, the eco-friendly rechargeable incubator has a breeding capacity of 500 birds every twenty-one days. It is made up of local, sustainable materials and powered by solar panels to ensure energy efficiency and sustainability. In the area of the feed, the team created a feed formula tailored to the different stages of poultry development, made of home-grown and high-quality selected ingredients such as maize, sorghum, fish meal, and lysin.

Martin and his team are planning to scale up the business and produce 1,000 rechargeable capacity incubators to be sold around the country. Both products are part of an inclusive production system which includes a feed and manure production and processing plant, and a cross-breed centre. Moreover, the young entrepreneurs started to cross-breed chickens to develop a new local breed, which is better adapted to the local environment and considered more disease-resistant. As a result, the survival rate of poultry has increased on the farm and the costs and dependency on veterinary inputs have been highly reduced. 

The Green Jobs for Rural Youth Employment (GJ4RYE) project 

The GJ4RYE project is a 4.5-year multilateral project, funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and implemented by FAO. Through this project, 600 youth are provided with green skills through soft and sector-specific training as well as employment opportunities, either through the Wage Employment Programme (WEP) or Green Entrepreneurship Track (GET), for a period of two years. Within the WEP, youth are working in different sustainable agricultural value chains for a period of two years while receiving a monthly salary. On the GET programme, young entrepreneurs are granted with a mentorship support and seed money to develop or consolidate their green business. In Sierra Leone, 65 youth were selected under the GET In partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and the NGO, Cotton Tree Foundation, the young agripreneurs are receiving mentorship support both in the area of business management and sustainable agriculture practices. In total, 36 businesses are currently supported, across promising and sustainable value chains, including beekeeping, organic fertilizer production, groundnut production peanut butter processing, and smart- irrigation systems, among others.