Youth tipped on opportunities in the agricultural sector
FAO commits to support Uganda’s efforts to make the sector safer and attractive for young people
More than 1400 youth have shown interest in the Youth Champions in Agriculture Initiative 2021 awards. Following the launching of the second round of the Youth Inspiring Youth in Agriculture Initiative (YIYA) in October 2020, a total of 270 youth agripreneurs have been identified from 135 districts across the country. The exercise aims to identify and recognise youth agripreneurs as role models that can inspire other youth to join the sector through knowledge-sharing, capacity building and mentorship. Across the country, the exercise has attracted more than 1400 applications, which have been screened and profiled in a collaborative exercise with the Young Farmers Champions Network and the Uganda National Young Farmers Federation.
This initiative is part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) efforts to make the agricultural sector more attractive and safe for young people. About 270 youth agripreneurs have been selected, of which 90 are young women will be awarded at district and regional levels while the best top 20 young women and 20 young men will be awarded as National Youth Champions, at the end of the ongoing phased exercise.
Speaking at the YIYA2021 Judges’ meeting convened to harmonise the criteria for selection of the final youth champions of the 2021 edition, the FAO Country Representative Dr Antonio Querido revealed that FAO will continue to prioritize specific interventions for enhancing youth engagement in agribusiness and creating decent youth employment in the agricultural sector. To this end, FAO is working to address some of these challenges and risks that inhibit young women and men from joining and gaining from agriculture, a sector that employs the largest number of people in the country.
“We know that many capable and productive youth in Uganda tend to shun agriculture due to the risks involved, intensive nature and low profitability. We are committed to working with relevant line ministries to address these bottlenecks and create a conducive environment under which agribusinesses can thrive,” said Dr Querido.
Through FAO’s Integrated Country Approach (ICA- Project) for boosting decent jobs for youth in the agri-food system, financially supported by Sweden, FAO supported the development of the Uganda National Strategy for Youth Employment in Agriculture (NSYEA). The NSYEA was officially launched in 2017 whose purpose is to guide all state and non-state actors in Uganda to engage and create decent employment for youth in the sector. Uganda has one of the youngest populations in the world: in 2017, 75.2 per cent of the 37.7 million population were below 30 years of age (UNHS, 2016/17).
State Minister for Agriculture, Honourable Aggrey Bagiire commended the YIYA initiative, urging the Government and development partners to establish a sustainability mechanism for this model to benefit more young people across the country. “This model has proved to be successful, and now we would like to scale up the youth champions to become a national wide mentorship programme. We need to establish funding mechanisms through the government, through which FAO and other stakeholders can support such tested models to engage more youth in gainful agricultural activities,” said Hon Bagiire.
One of the 2017 YIYA Champions Mr Gerald Katabazi used the opportunity to appreciate FAO and MAAIF for the platform and trainings that have enabled him and other youth to transform their businesses in just three years.
“Before I was selected as a champion, I operated a small kiosk in the bus park downtown Kampala. Following the numerous trainings on growing our ventures into profitable agribusinesses, today I operate a medium-sized shop on the affluent parts of the city, besides opening two regional coffee hubs in Mbale and Kasese Cities,” says Katabazi.
He encourages more youth to embrace the model and learn from other young people who are running successful agribusinesses.
“I wanted to do agriculture as a business and after graduating from University, I didn’t look for a job. I went back home and started growing coffee with a few friends. When I was selected to attend the trainings, l wasn’t sure how impactful the session would be. However, the 10 days I spent at the institute would become the best decision for my career. We trained on mindset change, developing bankable business plans, financial literacy among other agronomic sessions,” says Jonathan Tamale, another Youth Champion from the first cohort.
Jonathan further testifies that “I have got partners and access to resources I never thought I would ever have. In three years, we have transformed from an association of 40 coffee farmers to Kayunga Nile Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative with 750 members, 320 of whom are young people.”
According to Edward Tanyima, the ICA project Coordinator, the training package was developed in collaboration with the National Farmers Leadership Centre. 135 best youth champions will be trained considering a fair gender balance of 65 females and 70 Males. The training focuses on mind set change, decent work, productive employment, agribusiness, business planning and management, and preparation of action plans. The training includes both theoretical and practical lessons. The practical sessions include practical poultry rearing and management, piggery, dairy and crop production sessions for different crops. Additionally, practical record-keeping sessions based on the farm records and occupational safety and health.
The President of the Uganda National Farmers’ Association (UNFFE), Dr Dick Kamuganga, who is also heading the team of 10 judges for the YIYA 2021 initiative says that the model, if well implemented, will be the fastest route to reverse the stigma around agriculture among the younger people, with potential to create 4 million jobs every year.