Over the last months, FAO has carried out three multi-stakeholder workshops in Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire and the SADC region to identify existing and needed capacities that engage and empower youth to carry out and benefit from responsible agricultural investments.
During these workshops, young agri-entrepreneurs frequently mentioned that the absence or lack of access to incentives (financial, fiscal, incubators, etc.) was one of the challenges they faced in launching and sustaining their businesses in the early stages. For example, participants from one workshop mentioned that the allocation of fiscal incentives was subject to the generation of a turnover by far exceeding the capacities of a new business led by youth with limited amount of capital. Therefore, it was argued, that a policy initially designed to support agribusiness development inadvertently discriminated against youth and prevented them from sustaining their business.
From an expert perspective, I would therefore be interested in learning about good practices and cases of incentives that are supporting young agri-entrepreneurs.
From a policy perspective, I would be interested in learning about new or planned incentives by AU governments that would help realize the target of the Malabo Declaration to create job opportunities for at least 30% of youth in agricultural value chains.
Thank you.
Mr. Yannick Fiedler