Promoting youth employment in the agricultural sector by fostering role models of youth agripreneurs willing to work with and support other youth through knowledge-sharing will attract more young people into the sector, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Representative in Uganda, Mr Antonio Querido.

Mr Antonio was speaking to the youth during the Youth Inspiring Youth in Agriculture (YIYA) awards ceremony, held at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) in Namulonge.

FAO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) supported by the AVSI Foundation, successfully concluded a nationwide process of evaluating, recognizing and awarding 270 youth entrepreneurs in agriculture from all over Uganda on 11 November 2021 at a ceremony held at NaCRRI in Namulonge. The young agriculture enthusiasts and entrepreneurs, drawn from all parts of Uganda, competed in the second round of FAO and MAAIF’s Youth Inspiring Youth in Agriculture (YIYA) initiative. The youth champions received technical training in different agriculture value chains and the national-level winners received equipment and cash.

The top eight national youth in agriculture champions are: Moreen Nyakato from Kabarole District, Hillary Nahurira from Ntungamo District, Thomas Oloya from Gulu District, Susan Adong from Dokolo District, Mu-Awiya Mukasa from Nakaseke District, Annet Nyakaisiki from Kampala, Stephen Tumukugize from Mbale District and Barbara Mwagale from Tororo District. FAO, working with MAAIF and partners will work with the youth agripreneurs to showcase their enterprises at different relevant fora, participate in youth mentoring and training in agriculture and linkages to potential funding partners.

The YIYA initiative is a nationwide competition aimed at promoting youth employment in the agriculture sector by promoting role models of youth agripreneurs willing to work with and support other youth through knowledge-sharing, capacity building and mentorship. The 2021 edition of the campaign follows a pilot held in 2017, at which FAO and MAAIF recognised and awarded 25 best youth agripreneurs from across the country. The initiative is carried out within the framework of implementing Uganda’s National Strategy for Youth Employment in Agriculture, launched in 2017.

According to FAO Representative in Uganda- Mr Antonio Querido, promoting youth employment in the agricultural sector by fostering role models commonly referred to as youth champions in agribusiness is a tried and tested model which FAO has successfully adopted and is promoting in Uganda, to empower youth and bring young people to the fore as agriculture entrepreneurs. “We know it works and we want to scale it up,” he said.

In light of Uganda’s youthful population (76 per cent of the 42 million Ugandans are below 30 years old), Querido highlighted the resulting unemployment challenge, requiring a significant of decent jobs to absorb the growing young population. “The agriculture sector presents many opportunities for youth to engage and benefit from gainful employment. But they are shunning the sector because of the risks such as intensive labour, limited access to finance and low profitability”, he said. 

To attract more young people back into agriculture, Querido said that FAO is promoting peer-to-peer mentorship programmes like the YIYA initiative.

Support for youth engagement in agriculture in Uganda

During this round of the initiative, FAO partnered with AVSI Foundation, which is implementing the Skilling in Agripreneurship for Increased Youth Employment (SAY) project, with funding from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Through the SAY project, AVSI will carry out skills development and promote job creation in agriculture. The YIYA initiative is also supported by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

Through the Integrated Country Approach (ICA- Project) for Promoting decent employment for youth, FAO supported MAAIF to develop a National Strategy for Youth Employment in Agriculture (NSYEA) in 2017. “The Strategy is a guide for all state and non-state actors in Uganda, on ways to engage and create decent employment for youth in agriculture,” said Mr Yafesi Ogwang- Commissioner in charge of agribusiness at MAAIF.

The Commissioner for Youth Affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, Mr Mondo Kyateeka pointed out the continued relevance of agriculture in Uganda; for food, economic growth and job creation.

“Young people don't hate agriculture. What they need is a more scientific method to make it interesting for them. Our role is to ensure that the environment is conducive for them to work and earn decently from their labour,” he said.

Dr Sadik Kassim- Deputy Director-General in charge of Agricultural Technology Promotion at the National Agriculture Research Organisation (NARO) advised the youths to be disciplined and focused to sustain their agribusiness enterprises.

Speaking on behalf of the YIYA competition judges- Dr Dick Kamuganga, also the President of the Uganda National Farmers Federation, emphasized the need to scale up the initiative and increase the number of youth champions to at least one champion per sub-county.

Mr Mukasa Mu-awiya, one of the top eight winners and proprietor of a rabbitry business, thanked FAO for giving young people a platform to network and share ideas to improve their agribusiness enterprises.

“The opportunities in the sector are endless. We may not all go into rabbitry like me or coffee for some of the others. However, there’s something for each one of us. Go for that which gives you satisfaction. Our passion has seen our enterprise grow from a small young man’s dream to a big enterprise in just three years, currently employing 50 young people”, he said.

The National Coordinator for the ICA project in Uganda, Mr Edward Tanyima encouraged the youth to live an exemplary life in their communities; as responsible agripreneurs and investors “if we are to realize sustainable social-economic transformation”.

FAO in Uganda will continue working with relevant stakeholders to address bottlenecks that limit youth engagement in agriculture and agribusiness, through interventions to (i) improve labour productivity (ii) address climate change (iii) promote agribusiness and entrepreneurship, (iv)foster agricultural production, value addition and marketing.

Media contact:

Agatha Ayebazibwe

Communications Officer

FAO Uganda

WA: +255 779442502