Letter of the week: Covid-19 presents great chance for youth to invest in agriculture

The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the importance of the agriculture sector as a source of employment.

Many of those currently active in the sector as producers or distributors are young people, whose office jobs were cut short by the disease.

Time will tell whether these businesses will thrive after the pandemic. But the truth is, Covid-19 has led to the greater realisation that there is money in food and that business cannot end in the sector.

At the export level, fruit, herbs and vegetable exporters are currently doing brisk business as countries reopen.

Currently, demand for Kenya’s produce is at an all-time high, fuelled by closure of farms in Europe due to the pandemic, and it could take years before they resume full production, according to industry players.

They say we have demand, we have cargo planes back in the air, but produce is not enough.

The other week, President Uhuru Kenyatta launched a youth initiative in which he said young people will be supported to engage in income-generating activities to stem growing unemployment. Agriculture is among areas to benefit from these initiatives.

According to available studies, global population is expected to increase to nine billion by 2050, with youth (aged 15–24) accounting for about 14 per cent of this total.

Exploiting opportunities

So, what hinders the youth from exploiting opportunities in the sector? The first thing is that there is lack of information, which limits productivity and the acquisition of skills thus development of entrepreneurial ventures. 

Everywhere you go in Kenya, many young people are in towns sitting on motorcycles, idling at bus termini, hawking unnecessary stuff and engaging in nefarious activities like robberies.

Unemployment and poverty naturally breed crime, but engaging the youth in agribusiness is critical to curbing insecurity.

If purchasing a motorcycle is an easy business, why is it that keeping a dairy cow is not?

The risks involved in riding a boda boda are far much higher than farming yet given a choice between the bike and a cow, a young man will opt to ride because he sees quick cash.

The too many motorcycles all over the country means reduced earnings for the youth competing for limited customers, but the opposite is true for farming where demand for food is ever on the rise.

There are cases of young people who have embraced farming and are making good money out of the soil.

The reigning National Farmers Awards winner of the Youth in Agriculture category Caroline Mukuhi is a starring example of what young people can do given a chance.

Young people’s ideas, therefore, need support considering that many deal with short cycle crops or offer support services across the value chain. 

The writer is the marketing manager, Elgon Kenya