The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Federal Government of Germany have signed a six-month project designed to support the transition to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems by enhancing responsible investment by youth.

The initiative is designed to scale up the Agri-accelerator, an innovative approach focused on stimulating responsible investment in agrifood systems by young agri-entrepreneurs through the integration of the Committee on World Food Security’ Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI) in relevant policies, programmes, processes and investments.

Based on the proven success of this model, which was piloted in Tunisia since 2019, the Agri-accelerator is being implemented in Mauritania and Senegal thanks to the support of the Government of Germany. It is also under implementation in Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco.

Expanding incubation and acceleration programmes for youth in the Gambia

This new project will adapt the Agri-accelerator model to the Gambia, unpacking its main components. On the one hand, activities will focus on strengthening the capacities of business coaches and advisors working with young agri-entrepreneurs through the delivery of a learning programme. This will introduce them to the RAI acceleration toolkit, a set of practical tools that coaches and business advisors can use to guarantee the social, economic and environmental performance of agricultural investment projects and proposals.

On the other hand, the Agri-accelerator will provide direct support to the graduates of the Sabab Lou Training Centre, an institution focused on agricultural training and incubation. The most promising young women and men who have received a two-year training in farming and basic entrepreneurial skills will be selected to access acceleration support to increase the performance of their nascent businesses.

In parallel, the project will carry out a strategic planning exercise to identify regions with high investment needs and potential based on socio-economic indicators, as well as value chains within these regions with investment needs accessible to young agri-entrepreneurs. The findings will inform incubation and acceleration programmes focused on stimulating investment projects in agrifood systems by youth.

Creating a global “coaching for coaches” methodology                                                                                                       

At another level, under this project FAO will work towards the creation of a global cohort of master coaches skilled in the RAI accelerator toolkit. This cohort will be pivotal to the upscaling of the Agri-accelerator model, which requires the existence of skilled coaches which are able to autonomously train and supervise their pairs, guaranteeing a high quality of delivery in field interventions.

Finally, a global learning programme hub on the RAI accelerator toolkit for master coaches will be established housing the learning materials and providing space for global-level interaction between the master coaches and their trainees.