Support For The Youth to Access Technology For Agriculture Said Crucial
By Mekonnen Teshome
(Nairobi, Kenya) : In light of the delusion that agriculture is only for the people in rural areas and for those who are economically poor, panelists of a sideline session of the ongoing African Conference on Agricultural Technologies (ACAT) of the Africa Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) in Nairobi, Kenya, themed “Agricultural Resilience through Innovation” highlighted the issue of the African youth and agriculture.
Speaking at a “Youth Dialogue” session meant to provide a platform for young people to voice their perspectives, ideas, and aspirations in the context of sustainable agriculture, Dr. Joseph Macharia, Founder of “Mkulima Young” and a researcher in Australia, has called on the African urban youth to change their mind set and engage in the business of Agriculture.
Dr. Joseph Macharia said young people need to work hard to bridge their knowledge gaps in accessing agricultural technologies and to boost networking to access available resources.
The discussants who participated in the panel discussion also highlighted the need to support African youth in the provision of proper technologies, knowledge and attitude change to be able to do agriculture. The panelists also urged all stakeholders to support Africa’s youth to access technology to engage in agriculture.
One of the panelists, Mr. Matthias Charles Yabe, CEO, AkoFresh indicated that African needs to change the dominant narratives that urban youth cannot be involved in farming activities and African leaders need to ways of facilitating necessary tools and mentorship for young people to be embraced in Agricultural activities.
Ms. Vivianne Meta, Managing Director, LocateIT, who is an expert in GIS technology and its application for agriculture on her part said: “Young people can benefit from modern technologies like GIS for agricultural observation activities, farmer registration and agricultural cadaster, administering agricultural subsidies and monitoring agriculture as precision agriculture.”
Zola Magada, Global Fellows Coordinator, Alliance for Science highlighted the need for making information available for the youth and bridging the gap of communication as well as digitalization of agricultural technologies through local communication means especially community radios.
She advised that the communication among pertinent institutions and African farmers should be localized to the level that farmers can understand it well.
National Director of the International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences (IAAS), Mr. Kenneth Obayuwana at the occasion said that Africa needs to make agriculture attractive to the youth and open policy spaces for the youth to engage in agriculture.
He also mentioned that funding is another problem in the development of Agri-tech solutions among young Africans and mentorship of financial management is an area that leaders should focus on.
Addressing participants of the African Conference On Agricultural Technologies (ACAT), AATF Executive Director, Dr. Canisius Kanangire also said : “Unfortunately, the younger generations are still shy at soiling their hands in Agriculture”. Therefore, he went on say “Africa’s growing youth population–the youth bulge –projected to be a resource for revitalizing the African economy has not been fully harnessed.”
Unfortunately , the continent becomes a leading importer of food at the detriments of provision of quality health care, and education despite having the largest arable lands globally, Dr. Canisius explains.
The session aims at creating a platform for the youth through interactive discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities, the session encourages dialogue and collaboration among youth participants, experts, and policymakers.
In addition, this session will bring to light the voices of youth-focused entrepreneurial supporters including funders and NGOs directly involved in agri-business support targeting youth in various value chains to highlight current trends, models, and key lessons emerging.
According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa has the world’s youngest population with about 60% of the population under 35 years old. Nowadays, the majority of youth in Africa do not have stable economic opportunities.
Available AfDB information confirm that in the agriculture sector, lack of access to land, finance, markets, technologies and practical skills are barriers to youth participation.
Moreover, in Africa there is a perception among the youth of farming as an unattractive career path, which is characterized by hard labor, long hours and poor remuneration and scant social recognition.
,