Motivate youth to venture into farming

Campaigns with the tag line ‘farming is cool’ are now popular yet the average Kenyan farmer is 53 years old, according to a study by the African Development Bank (ADB). Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy and is responsible for livelihoods of over 80 per cent of the rural population. It accounts for 65 per cent of the country’s total export revenue, according to the country’s Institute of Economic Affairs.

This shows how important agriculture is to us yet it is a sector that has largely been ignored by the youth, who yearn for the security and prestige of white-collar jobs.

Today, young people are doing new and amazing things in the agricultural space all over the continent but still need to be motivated. Institutions like the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development have a mentorship programme for young farmers, while Farm Africa provides training for them. However, a lot needs to be done to encourage more young people to get into agriculture.

 

The ADB is currently holding its annual meeting in India under the theme Transforming Agriculture for Wealth Creation in Africa; the bank will award young farmers across Africa whose innovations are transforming the sector. Treasury has allocated Sh15 billion to agriculture and some of it should be invested into positioning the sector as a profitable sector, to attract more youth. Charity Kamiro, Thika