An international network with Dutch roots and representing entrepreneurial farmers is organizing the ‘Youth in Agribusiness Caravan 2017’, to encourage more youths get involved into commercial agriculture.
According to a release, AgriProFocus Uganda the seven-day activity that will include farm field visits is to be held under the theme: ‘Youth in Agribusiness for Economic Empowerment and Sustainable Development’, and begins in Kampala tomorrow and move to Western and South Western Uganda covering Masaka, Mbarara, Bushenyi, Kasese and Fort Portal. It will then move back to Kampala for the National Policy convention where there will be the launch of the Agrifood campaign (Feeding the world, changing lives) as climax activities.
The Caravan will address traditional barriers to youth participation in agriculture like limited access to key resources such as land, startup capital and business mentoring among others.
‘All these have subsequently led to low food production, under development, poverty and hunger with high dependency levels especially I the rural areas,” reads the press statement in part.
The caravan will bring together youths from rural and urban areas, start-ups and progressive entrepreneurs in the agri-food sector regardless of the value chain. “The caravan attracts young innovators, passionate about their Agribusinesses, ready to be change makers, role models, and agribusiness leaders to transform the agribusiness sector in Uganda,” reads the press release.
According to the press release, young people have a high propensity to produce and consume, an excellent source of ideas and innovations and enthusiastic;. “Involving youth in agribusiness subsector would very much contribute to not only boosting the economy but also attaining a population that is economically empowered, self-sustaining and thus leading to an improved quality of life and a sustainable development,” the press release says.
The objectives of the caravan include; creating a platform for joint actions on motivating youth into agribusiness through peer to peer exchanges and learning from youth led agribusiness enterprises, expose the youth to farm-firm field visits within and across borders as well as interfacing with policy/decision makers of relevant Government ministries, departments and agencies.
And also Motivate youth into joining the expanded employment opportunities in the Agribusiness value chains and provide a platform for sharing information, knowledge and learning from real life experiences by the successful youth agripreneurs.
The caravan will climax into a national high level policy convention, bringing together youth leaders, agribusiness experts, relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), Members of Parliament, research institutions, academia, private businesses, farmers, agro-processing industries, the Cooperators, Labor Unions and informal and formal agribusiness practitioners;] International agencies and development partners purposely to effectively engage each other in order to draw actionable commitments towards creating an enabling environment that supports youth in agribusiness.
The group will petition Parliament, before crowning it all at Hotel Africana with the launch of the Agribusiness Campaign dubbed: “Youth in Agribusiness, feeding the world-Changing Lives”
AgriProFocus network is an international multi-stakeholder network with Dutch roots representing entrepreneurial farmers, private sector enterprises, governments, knowledge institutions and civil society organisations in the agrifood sector.
Other partners involved in organising the caravan include; Uhuru Institute of Social Development, Agriterra, Actionaid, Clusa, AVSI, Agrotourism, DARAS, CURAD, Excel Hort, Uganda National Farmers Federation and Uganda National Young Farmers Association,. Others are;TUNADO, Focus Youth, CIDI, Young Agribusiness Network, European Union and National Parliamentary Youth Forum.
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