“The programme seeks to create jobs for youths who are coming out of university and are currently jobless, but who are willing to learn about agriculture and become entrepreneurs of the future,” says Dr Victor Manyong’, IITA regional director for East Africa.
The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) will fund a 16 million dollar project in Kenya that seeks to attract graduates from all over Africa into horticulture and agribusiness. The project will be run by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). The Universities of Nairobi (UON), Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Organisation (KALRO) and Makueni County in the Eastern part of the country will work with the Makueni Youth Agripreneurs (MYA) project to stimulate horticulture and agri-business. Similar projects have already taken off in DR Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Nigeria. According to IITA director general, Dr Nteranya Sanginga, it's the objective to roll it out all over Africa.
“The project aims to inspire the youth to create their own jobs to a level where they can make 700 US Dollars per month within three years,” says Sanginga. “But it is not just about jobs, it's about the making of youth led institutions that grow into profit making companies.” Studies show that youths between the ages of 15 and 24 represent about 64 per cent of the population in Africa, where most of them are jobless. IITA officials say the programme will be using science based solutions to initiate businesses. “We believe that the rate of success will be high and we expect them to reach very profitable ventures, because this programme is using the best available knowledge from science to develop the youth into the business of 'agriprenuer',” adds Manyong’.
The project will also tap into technologies that ensure a higher production and are resistant to pests and diseases. “My expectation is that this project will show the youth that farming is not a dirty occupation but one that uses science based intelligence to grow as an agri entrepreneur,” says a beneficiary.
Source : Frans van den Houdt. Photo: Catolicsun.org. http://www.hortibiz.com “The project aims to inspire the youth to create their own jobs to a level where they can make 700 US Dollars per month within three years,” says Sanginga. “But it is not just about jobs, it's about the making of youth led institutions that grow into profit making companies.” Studies show that youths between the ages of 15 and 24 represent about 64 per cent of the population in Africa, where most of them are jobless. IITA officials say the programme will be using science based solutions to initiate businesses. “We believe that the rate of success will be high and we expect them to reach very profitable ventures, because this programme is using the best available knowledge from science to develop the youth into the business of 'agriprenuer',” adds Manyong’.
The project will also tap into technologies that ensure a higher production and are resistant to pests and diseases. “My expectation is that this project will show the youth that farming is not a dirty occupation but one that uses science based intelligence to grow as an agri entrepreneur,” says a beneficiary.
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