Nyeri launches programme to woo youth into agriculture

Nyeri County has partnered with the Council of Governors, One Acre Fund, and the Mastercard Foundation to unveil a project that will see more youth embrace farming as an income-generating activity.

The project dubbed Reshaping Kenyan Agriculture for Dignified Youth Livelihoods is targeting to onboard more than 3,500 young people between the ages of 18-35 in Nyeri County alone and close to 300,000 youth in 34 other counties in the country.

Nyeri becomes the first county to launch the project, five months after the Council of Governors signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the One Acre Fund to enhance sustainable agricultural practices and rural development.

Through the MoU, the partners also agreed to collaborate and boost agricultural productivity in the country.

According to One Acre Fund Global Director for Government Relations and Policy, Yael Hartman, the project aims to improve the lives of young people by changing their perspectives on agriculture.

Hartman said that to achieve this goal they will incorporate the use of modern technology to attract and inspire the youth to join the sector.

Further, she said that through the project, they will also empower the youth by promoting the cultivation of high-value crops, the use of modern farming techniques, and linking the young farmers to market opportunities.

“We are focusing on high-value crops and giving high-value seeds, such as tomatoes. We also focused on aggregation and bringing the produce to the market so that the prices that the farmers get are higher. We are also making sure that technology is part of this partnership so that youth are attracted to farming,” she said.

The Mount Kenya Government Relations Compliance Coordinator at One Acre Fund, Faith Kamande, said that the project will address the three main gaps that hinder the under 35s from taking up careers in agriculture.

She noted that the lack of capital and being locked out of the agriculture value chain were the main barriers that are making the youth shun the sector.

“We have started by enlightening the potential young farmers about this programme, which can help them get into agriculture and thrive. What we are telling the youth is that they are not limited to tilling the farm, but you could form part of the value chain, such as value addition, or even become a distributor,” stated Kamande.

Kamande said that they will work with the county governments to link the youth with some of the opportunities at the county level.

To address the land availability problem, which she termed one of the biggest challenges for the youth, Kamande said that they are exploring other options, including land leasing arrangements.

“We are appealing to the parents to release land to the youth so that they support themselves. We are also telling the youth that they can still practice agriculture by exploring other avenues such as leasing land for agriculture,” she said.

Speaking during the launch of the project, Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga underscored the importance of involving the youth in agriculture.

He noted the project will equally unlock the county’s agricultural potential by promoting the cultivation of other high-value crops and curb its overreliance on coffee and tea.

Additionally, the governor said county agriculture officers will support the initiative through their extension services.

“The project is key for a county like Nyeri, which has been very strong on Coffee and Tea and those two are not youth-friendly. The youth do not want long-term programmes; they want programmes that can make them money as fast as yesterday, and that is why we must try to look for other avenues. We therefore urge the youth to embrace the programme because as much as agriculture is not an attractive venture, they will end up making money,” said Kahiga.

By Wangari Mwangi