Representing African Youths in ARD at The GCARD 2

Speaking on behalf of YPARD AFRICA at the FARA Side- event at the GCARD2

YPARD was invited to present to it activities to theThe Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) at it pre-event conference side event activities held on the 28^th of October 2012 at the 2^nd Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD2) holding at Punta del Este, Uruguay. The session was focusing on “Catalyzing African Innovations and entrepreneurship” and it was dedicated to showcasing innovations and entrepreneurships within the agriculture knowledge system in Africa. The objectives of the event were

1.    Share at the global level experiences in catalyzing innovations and entrepreneurship by different regional coordinating bodies from extension to youth and civil society organizations and

2.    Create opportunity to discuss possible partnerships with other continents for South-South and North-South Cooperation.

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) is the apex organization for coordinating and facilitating agricultural research extension and Education in Africa. It hosts YPARD Africa. As a result, among the many stakeholders in ARD such as ASARECA, AFAAS, RUFORUM, PAFFO, NASRO, and PANGOC who were present at the event, YPARD Africa was also present to showcase to the apex body their activities so far and plans for the future.

I was invited to represent YPARD Africa and present activities of the continental arm of the organization to the stakeholders. Among the many things mentioned was the role of YPARD in networking Young Professionals in Agricultural Research for Development together and providing a structure for them to show case their works in all areas of Agriculture.

I also elaborated on the role YPARD plays in not only giving voice to the youths but also bringing it to the doorstep of the stakeholders and senior professionals. A typical example is the lobbying for sponsorship of four YPs from Africa to join 12 others from all over the world to bring the voice of youths to the GCARD2. The role YPARD plays in sharing and disseminating information to the youth was showcased as well. Stakeholders at the event also found interesting the YPARD’s program to showcase the efforts of YP doing well in agriculture through its YP of the month testimonial page on their website and it was applauded.

I went ahead to explain the challenges faced by young professionals and YPARD as an organization. These included:

     i.        The need for Young Professional to have more access to internships, field works and mentorship from the various arms of agriculture.

    ii.        The need to provide training on entrepreneurship and soft skills to improve innovation systems.

   iii.        The problem of making agriculture attractive to young people

   iv.        Value addition to the career with appropriate reward system and

    v.        Funding for more offline activities and administrative activities of YPARD Africa at national levels

The various stakeholders appreciated the effort of YPARD so for and encouraged that the flag be kept flying. These discussions were brought before the global research community during FARA’s presentation at the conference itself.

Olawale Isaiah is an active member of YPARD from Nigeria and was part of the 4 youths from Africa sponsored to be part of the 2^nd Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD2). This is the second of my post-conference posts. Read the first here.

Women and Youth as Catalyst for Agribusiness Development and Growth in West & Central Africa - Songhai Centre, Port Novo, Republic of Benin, 6-9th October 2012

UNIDO, IFAD, UN Women, FAO, UNDP and Oxfam in collaboration with the Songhai Centre, organized a 4 day workshop fair (6^th – 9^th October 2012) on the theme “Women and Youth as Catalyst for Agribusiness Development and Growth in Western Africa”. The event started with a trade fair showcasing agribusiness produces and processing machineries and culminated in a consultative forum which explored strategies for attracting more women and youth in agribusiness - as a credible job and wealth creation option for the sub region.

Stalls at Trade Fair with agro entrepreneurs displaying their products

Dr Patrick Kormawa UNIDO Country Rep Nigeria and First Lady Cross River State

The key objective of the youth workshop fair was to articulate a strategy for attracting and engaging young women and men in agribusiness. Focusing largely on creating decent employment opportunities for young men and women by making agriculture more productive, efficient, remunerative and competitive, the consultative forum made salient inputs towards the development of evidence based set of policy guidelines that promote women and youth entrepreneurs in agribusiness development

A cross section of young entrepreneurs

The workshop was attended by over 200 participants from 14 African countries. Participants included young entrepreneurs, Songhai Centre graduates, government representatives, agribusiness companies, women entrepreneurs and organisations, farmer organisations, business associations, civil society as well as representatives from national, regional and international development agencies.

Agro entrepreneurs sharing their success stories

During the workshop, stakeholders shared experiences and ideas on strategies for implementation of agribusiness programmes. They identified key factors and successful business models like the Songhai Centre - that can attract young people to become engaged in agribusiness and collaborated to produce a plan of action for a strategic approach to making agriculture an attractive option for more women and youth to engage in. Participants acknowledged the enormous potential young women and men possess to effectively contribute to this critical sector - agreeing that agribusiness offers a realistic opportunity for job and wealth creation for young people who are key drivers of economic growth in emerging markets like the West and Central African sub region. Despite these potentials nonetheless, there was a general consensus that more needs to be done; the sector was still not attractive enough to new entrants, as it continues to be characterised by low investment in technology and research, drudgery, policy lapses and unequal access to information, agribusiness inputs and markets. The need to develop policies to address these challenges was underscored by several participants.

A cross section of agribusiness enthusiasts listening to experience sharing sessions

The consultative forum concluded with participants agreeing on specific issues for organisers to follow up on and action:

1.    Establish a platform where women and young people as well as development partners and other key stakeholders can network and share salient information on available opportunities including - best practices, technology and research, innovations, commodity prices and access to market.

Facilitate the formation of communities of practice amongst women and youth agro entrepreneurs utilising participants in the workshop as the pioneer cohort

2.    Utilising inputs from interactive sessions and experiences shared by entrepreneurs, the forum urged organisers to develop a comprehensive policy guidelines for promoting the profitable engagement of women and young people in agribusiness in the West and Central African Region. The policy guideline will serve as a useful tool for programme development, advocacy and fund mobilisation by governments and development partners.

3.    Finalise and disseminate a Strategic Action Plan based on interactive sessions and experiences shared by agro entrepreneurs during workshop. The plan will aim at promoting agriculture as a lucrative business for young men and women in West and Central Africa.

It was agreed that the plan should articulate critical elements discussed in meeting such as effective coordination, capacity building for young agro entrepreneurs to meet required quality standards for markets, resource mobilisation strategy to fund plan, a media and advocacy strategy to rebrand and provide visibility to the opportunities in agribusiness and a Monitoring and Evaluation regime to guide implementation of action plan.

4.    Organise an Annual Award Event aimed at recognising successful agro entrepreneurs as role models in the West and Central African region.

The Minister of Youth Development(Nigeria) Hon Inuwa Abdul-Kadir, listening to young agroentreprenuers

5.    The developmental Institutions present resolved to work with the agro entrepreneurs and Government agencies in addressing the specific challenges affecting women and youth, particularly those relating to unequal access to finance and other agribusiness inputs.

As the phrase ‘business unusual’ was adopted as the guiding ethos for the workshop fair, the organisers were urged by the participants to ensure that resolutions reached by the forum be followed through dutifully. On their part, participants, especially the women and young entrepreneurs resolved to increase the momentum generated from the workshop by spreading the information on the several opportunities they have identified in the sector to their peers in their respective communities and expressed willingness to form themselves into a community of practice where they can continue to share information and have a strong platform for influencing policies that affect them.

For more details please contact:

Maada Gombu   +2347068886330           

Ikechukwu Attah

Leonce Sessou