Capacity building workshop on youth-sensitive value chain analysis and contract farming in Rwanda
Between 8th and 11th November 2022, FAO conducted a capacity building workshop in Rwanda on youth-sensitive value chain analysis and contract farming (see related news on Twitter https://twitter.com/FAORwanda/status/1589979511080161280)
The training was implemented in the frame of the FAO project Integrated Country Approach (ICA) for boosting decent jobs for youth in the agrifood system, which the Organization has been implementing since 2011.
ICA is currently in its third phase (2019-2023), which is implemented in Rwanda, as well as in Kenya, Uganda, Senegal and Guatemala. The project is mainly funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
In order to support the identification of youth-friendly economic opportunities in agrifood value chains, the ICA project invested in the development of guidelines for practitioners to apply a stronger market-driven value chain approach:
The Youth-sensitive value chain analysis and development Guidelines for practitioners (FAO, 2022) are the result of collaborative work between the FAO Decent Rural Employment Team (DRET) in the Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division (ESP); and the Sustainable Markets, Agribusiness and Rural Transformation (SMART) team in the Agrifood Economics Division (ESA). They are based on in-country work in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya, which led to its conceptualization and development.
The capacity building workshop held in November 2022 at the Lemigo Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, enabled trainees to familiarize themselves with the guidelines and strengthened their capacities on youth-sensitive value chain development. The workshop hosted 25 participants, including government officials, development practitioners, private sector actors and youth organizations. In addition to providing the theoretical and practical foundation of the youth-sensitive value chain framework, the workshop invited various national speakers to add the country perspective through first-hand experiences. Among the guest speakers were representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture (namely the Director General of Agriculture Value Chain Management and Trade, SNV Rwanda (partner during the youth-sensitive value chain analysis of the horticulture sector), and several youth organizations including the Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF), Youth Engagement in Agriculture Network (YEAN), Horticulture in Reality Corporation (HORECO) and Agriwin.
Trainees were taken on a learning journey that was built on the fundamental understanding of sustainable food value chains, expanding into youth-sensitive value chain assessments and tools through interactive sessions, experiential group learning, exchanges with youth stakeholders as well as a field visit to a youth-led company. After learning about the analytical elements and how to structure strategy and action planning, the operational and legal aspects of contract farming were introduced to the trainees. Furthermore, the training presented additional approaches to market-linkages and gave participants the opportunity to reflect on what they have learned and translate it into concrete action points for the future. The ultimate objective was to involve stakeholders in making specific suggestions on the way forward for youth engagement in agrifood value chains and encourage them to make concrete commitments on what they (or their organizations) could do.
The workshop focused on contract farming as a strategic entry point to strengthen and enable youth to access markets in Rwanda. The contract farming sessions were supported by the Development Law Service Division (LEGN), in particular with regard to the legal aspects of contract farming. The specific focus on access to markets and contract farming was a recommendation of the youth-sensitive horticulture assessment conducted by SNV for FAO under the ICA project in 2021. Some of the recommendations of the study in Rwanda are already being implemented by FAO Rwanda in partnership with MINAGRI, including the set-up of the advocacy Buy from Youth Campaign, which aims at boosting young agripreneurs’ productive engagement in local agri-food systems, starting from the tomato and passion fruit value chains. In particular, the campaign aims at reinforcing the commitment of big buyers and industries to buy from Rwandese youth agripreneurs, networks and cooperatives, while exploring the possibility for them to engage in contract farming in the medium-term.
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