Kenya and Rwanda: Four years of successful youth employment promotion in agrifood systems
Since 2011, FAO has been implementing the Integrated Country Approach (ICA) programme to assist countries in developing inclusive agrifood policies, strategies and programmes for the promotion of youth engagement and employment in agrifood systems. The programme has primarily been funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and implemented in three phases. The third phase, which started in 2019, covered Guatemala, Senegal, Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda, and was successfully completed at the end of 2023.
In December 2023, in light of the closure of the project in Kenya and Rwanda, technical exchanges were organized in both countries to share feedback and lessons learned among FAO colleagues, project partners, as well as youth and youth organizations. The sessions also collected inputs to inform future activities on youth employment by FAO and national stakeholders in the two countries.
Rwanda
The event was held on 18 December in Kigali, bringing together Government representatives and other partners involved in the implementation of the ICA project, including no-profit organizations and youth networks. The discussion kicked off with remarks of appreciation by Octave Nshimiyimana, Director General of Agriculture Value Chain Management and Trade from the Ministry of Agriculture, and Coumba Sow, FAO Representative in Rwanda.
Thereafter, the National Coordinator of the ICA, Caritas Kayilisa, gave an overview of the project activities, achievements and lessons learnt – summarizing a four-year journey across knowledge generation, advocacy, policy support, capacity building, and support to young agripreneurs and youth networks.
As highlighted by Ms Kayilisa, the journey started with the generation of knowledge on youth employment in the national horticulture value chain, thanks to the collaboration with SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. This knowledge informed the policy and technical support provided by the ICA project to the formulation of the National Youth Employment Strategy for Agrifood Systems 2023-2027 as well as the capacity building for national stakeholders on youth sensitive value chain development and contract farming.
As part of these efforts, the Buy from Youth campaign enhanced the production capacity of youth in agribusiness and the commitment of big buyers and industries to buy from Rwandese youth agripreneurs, networks, and cooperatives. At the same time, the Fit for Finance trainings increased youth's financial literacy, while dedicated training modules and curricula, developed in partnership with Kilimo Trust, focused on the production and processing of tomato and passion fruit. Significant effort has been placed also in strengthening the Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) – the main representative body of young agripreneurs in Rwanda – supporting its strategic planning and governance.
Following the overview of the results achieved by ICA, the participants engaged in the event exchanged on their experiences, lessons learned and remaining challenges. They appreciated the commitment of FAO and the ICA project towards youth employment and inclusive agrifood systems transformation and flagged areas in need of additional support. For instance, they stressed the importance of further strengthening capacity building opportunities and peer learning approaches to increase the number of youths accessing training, in particular on pest and post-harvest management as well as on production and processing. Participants also highlighted the importance of further promoting the inclusion of youth with disability and young women, as well as youth financial literacy and alternative collateral mechanisms.
It was also recommended to the Government to increase efforts in promoting access to productive resources, including land and agriculture equipment, which are perceived to be still relatively expensive, in spite of the Government subsidies. Youth that have already acquired knowledge should share it within their communities, promoting collaboration to increase impact and use economies of scale. In this context, joining RYAF would help them to be more aware of opportunities and work with fellow youth to coordinate efforts.
The event closed with the handing out of post-harvest tools and protective gears to 20 youth who participated in ICA training sessions on production and processing of tomato and passion fruit and distinguished themselves for creating employment opportunities for other youth – in total, 467 jobs for other youth were generated. Further, additional four best youth groups will receive greenhouses as an incentive to keep the spirit of working together. Overall, ICA supported in Rwanda around 715 youth (41 percent women) and 7 youth groups through capacity building and business support.
Kenya
The event was held on 14 December in Kisumu, Kenya. Tito Arunga, Agribusiness and Value Chain Development Officer at FAO, welcomed participants with opening remarks and handed over to Andrew Mwaura, ICA National Coordinator, who presented success stories and lessons learned emerged from the implementation of the ICA project, followed by a feedback session.
One of the main achievements of the ICA project in Kenya was the knowledge generated in collaboration with Capital Strategies on youth employment opportunities in selected agricultural value chains in Siaya and Kakamega counties and the support provided to the domestication of the 2017 National Kenya Youth in Agribusiness Strategy in the two counties. The project also provided capacity building for national stakeholders and specific trainings for youth to harness opportunities in Integrated Pest Management, aquaculture/fishpond construction, and poultry.
These interventions were combined with the piloting of models for facilitating youth access to land, finance, and markets – for instance through market fairs and partnerships with Equity Bank, Agricycle Global, and Kakamega Dairy Development Cooperation.
ICA also focused on the inclusion of the most vulnerable groups of youth. For instance, the project teamed up with the Siaya Disabled Peoples Organization (SIDIPO), helping its young members to set up and enhance their own agribusinesses along different value chains, through tailored training and in-kind contributions.
The project also provided online incubation for young women, in partnership with KUZA, supporting their early-stage agribusinesses through an online platform which facilitated the provision of resources, mentorship, networking opportunities, and training. Mentoring and agripreneurship were also boosted through the collaboration with the African Women in Agribusiness Network (AWAN AFRIKA).
In order to facilitate youth's engagement and contribution to policy dialogue, FAO also organized training sessions for youth organizations on the public policy cycle. In total, ICA supported in Kenya around 1,500 youth (43 percent women) and 97 youth groups.
The ICA journey was then visualized through the perspective of two youth representatives, namely Dorothy Makayoto (from Kakamega) and Benta Achieng (Siaya), who presented personal lessons learned, challenges experienced and opportunities to be exploited in the future.
A number of national and international institutions delivered their remarks on their partnership with FAO through ICA, summarizing the impact of the different collaborations, their results, challenges and vision for the future. Among those were the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), the Agriculture Sector Development Support Programme, Maseno University, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, KUZA Biashara, Kakamega Dairy Development Corporation, and Bukura Agricultural Technology Development Center.
During the event, participants also outlined the next steps and areas of interventions. In particular, it was highlighted that, as FAO continues to support the young people to lease land from the Government, it is imperative to also support the youth in formalising the lease agreement through contracts that clearly define expectations and responsibilities from both parties. FAO also needs to keep working with financial institutions to help them mainstream youth access to finance within their business models. Furthermore, youth should be included in the design of development projects and strategic partnerships, while the private sector should be better monitored and accompanied by county governments to avoid excessive risks. Facilitating study tours and youth participation in global fora, such as COP, would be also crucial to guarantee knowledge sharing and participation in policy dialogues.
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