Let’s make agriculture attractive to the youth

Irene left university last year with a “coveted” and “marketable” degree in International Relations in hand, hope and enthusiasm in her heart, and the firm conviction in her mind that she was destined for a high-flying career in international diplomacy and politics. Her exuberance, however, was soon tempered by the realisation that, “after four years of university, there are no jobs out there, and even with the vacancies available, they need you to have three or more years of experience …” After a couple of months “tarmacking”, she settled on what most would consider an unusual path.

EDUCATION

“I am a farmer now,” she proclaims, proudly presenting a seven-page Excel worksheet illustrating a plan of action that would flummox all but the most seasoned — or daring — of takers. “People need strawberries; I know how to grow them. I have seen family and friends farm, so for me, it was an easy decision. Plus, it’s better than staying in the house, waiting for the parents to provide!”

Many Kenyan youth find themselves in Irene’s shoes, with scant employment prospects at the end of their formal education. But even though agriculture has been a mainstay of Kenya’s economy for as long as the country has existed, unlike Irene, very few of the youth consider turning to agriculture as a source of livelihood. The key challenge, therefore, is: How do we get our youth into an industry as old as civilisation itself? A sector so critical that President Uhuru Kenyatta recently pronounced agriculture and food security as one of the four pillars of his platform towards continuing Kenya’s emergence as a middle-income country.

POPULATION

The solution to this challenge lies in our appreciation of a few salient facts. Most notable is that over 60 per cent of Kenya’s estimated population of 48 million are below the age of 30. Of this considerable cohort, an overwhelming majority are either unemployed or underemployed, and this despite being quite well-educated. Several challenges, real or perceived, dissuade the youth from agriculture. Chief among these include market access restrictions. In addition to not always having a ready market, infrastructure to market is often lacking or wanting. Then there is the risk of losses due to lack of storage facilities. Moreover, most youth don’t have access to the most basic agricultural resource — land. And even if they did, lack of basic knowledge and skills makes most youth shy away from this sector.  Finally, the youth have difficulty accessing loans. All these facts and challenges mean that, even though Kenya has always been a heavily agrarian economy, its most potent, competent demographic are giving agriculture a pass.

ICT SOLUTIONS

“Serikali saidia!” is a cry that, although many would like to lampoon, poignantly shows that in many instances, government is the only recourse most Kenyans have towards securing their wellbeing. The government should, therefore, look for solutions to some of these challenges to reposition the sector for the youth. To start with, education is the best bet to get more youth involved in agriculture. Respected agriculture ambassadors could leverage youth and media partnerships to change perceptions, especially to show that there is money to be made in agriculture — and also make agriculture look “cool”. The youth should also be educated on farming techniques and technology, while the school curriculum should return to painting agriculture positively. Innovative land tenure systems that enable young farmers to access idle or community land should also be explored. Finally, the government would do well to enable easy access to collateral-free credit through Uwezo/Youth funds.

Also, given that agriculture is a devolved function, the national government can do so much. Counties  have a major role to play. They can create agribusiness strategies that provide markets for local produce, aggressively pursuing markets — including using ICT solutions such as mFarm — where farm produce is readily sold, creating storage, packaging, and processing facilities close to farmers as well as reviving extension services.

SH282,000

Unlike many youth, Irene isn’t waiting for serikali. She found out that, even with the best intention from government and stakeholders, creation of non-agricultural jobs may not happen in the short term. “I got a friend of mine to let me use his prime urban residential plot, which had been lying idle, to grow my strawberries. My initial cash investment is Sh40,000. It will take three months for me to start harvesting. My estimated earnings are approximately Sh282,000 each harvest cycle from the one acre my friend has allowed me to use …”

It might just be time for the government — and the youth, as well — to sit up and take notice of this sector and its opportunities.

The author is a former Planning and Statistics Principal Secretary