by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – AFRICAN governments, donors, investors and development partners have been encouraged to support youth innovators to enable them contribute to the transformation of agriculture in the continent.
Heifer International, the global nonprofit working to eradicate poverty and hunger through sustainable and values-based holistic community development, urged the stakeholders at the just-concluded Africa Food Systems Forum in Dakar, Senegal.
At the forum, Heifer showcased its work in several countries, majorly the AyuTe NextGen (Agriculture, Youth and Technology Next Generation).
It is a Heifer international technology that the organisation says puts young people and technology at the heart of Africa’s agricultural future.
The agro-tech focused offering identifies, supports and scales agri-tech and innovations that address the key challenges faced by the smallholder farmer.
In Nigeria, its partnership with Hello Tractor has given more than 20 000 farmers access to affordable mechanisation services, helping them plant and harvest on time.
In Uganda, youth-led startups supported through Heifer’s AyuTe NextGen initiative have expanded mobile-based livestock health and crop advisory services, attracting private investment in the process.
In Kenya and Rwanda, partnerships with dairy cooperatives have reduced milk spoilage by up to 30 percent, improving farmer incomes and making the sector more attractive to buyers and processors.
Adesuwa Ifedi, Senior Vice President for Africa Programmes, said these results demonstrated what was possible when local actors led the way.
“Farmers must be treated as business partners, young innovators need the opportunities to prove their models and finance must be structured in ways that share risk fairly. Above all, partnerships rooted in local realities create the trust and resilience needed for long-term growth,” she said.
Ifedi said flexible funding allowed young streprises to test their ideas in real farming conditions, prove their models and connect with markets.
Carolyne Mwangi, Chief Executive Officer of Kenya-based Kimplanter Seedlings and Nurseries, spoke on behalf of recent AyuTe NextGen winners.
She said across Africa, young entrepreneurs were deliversing solutions, from mechanisation services to cold-chain logistics.
“What they need are partners who understand farming realities and who can connect them to markets,” Mwangi said.
Agriculture employs nearly two-thirds of Africa’s workforce but Heifer notes the sector receives 4 percent of commercial lending.
The African Development Bank estimates a funding gap of US$80 billion annually.
These setbacks are seen as scuttling food production despite the availability of rich soils and committed farmers in the continent.
The emergence of climate change has also raised the need to adopt modern technologies to boost agriculture.
Heifer operates in 19 countries across Africa , Asia and the Americas.
– CAJ News