Tap benefits of agribusiness, youth advised

Morogoro. The youth in the country should utilise agribusiness and entrepreneurship opportunities to check escalating unemployment challenges.

This is due to the fact that agriculture has continued and remains the only sector that has provided employment opportunities to 70 per cent of the population in the country, leaving only 30 per cent shared by other sectors of the economy.

Activities like poultry keeping, dairy farming, training, agroforestry, fisheries, cottage and agro-processing industries for agri-based foods, are important avenues for the youth to focus on essential sources of income and livelihoods. Speaking at the launch of the Tanzania Youth in Agribusiness Forum (TYIAF) held in Morogoro recently, Prof Lascelles Chen said despite the challenges the youth faced, they remained key drivers and ambassadors of agricultural sector transformation in the country.

“The youth have the greatest potential of changing agricultural business landscape not only in the country, but also at global level, they only need courage, determination and a positive attitude towards embracing the agricultural sector,” said Prof Chen, the managing director of Magadu Entrepreneurship and Business Training Institute (MEBTI).

He said: “despite ups and downs encountered on the road towards achieving business success or effective involvement in agriculture, youths must have a focus and a determined mindset that will take them to the next levels of economic prosperity.”

Prof Chen was of the view that the youth needed to be in groups that would make them have access to important services, specifically financial assistance from both public and private entities.

“If you are standing alone, the bus of development will pass you by, but if you are standing in a group the bus will stop and take you and your group on board,” said Prof Chen.

Speaking on the experience from Uganda, he said “the fastest growing section of the Ugandan middle class is creating their wealth from enterprises based in the agricultural sector.” Comparing to the old generation, he said the youth had all what it takes to drive the future of the agricultural sector in the country due to their versatility to changes. Statistics show that the market for African staple food like maize, milk, meat, bananas, sorghum, rice and millet is estimated at over $150 billion a year and growing at between 3 per cent and 8 per cent annually.

TYIAF was organised by Agri-Hub Tanzania, a network that deals in promoting farmer entrepreneurship in Tanzania in collaboration with the Tanzania Graduate Farmers Association (TGFA), Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative (Sugeco) – the two entities, which are the products of Sokoine University envisaging on the practice of commercial farming among graduate farmers in Tanzania together with 4-H and Farm Africa.

The event with a theme: “Kilimobiashara Ndio Mpango Mzima (Agribusiness is holistic programme)” attracted hundreds of young people, youth-led organisations and companies in the agricultural sector and civil society organisations to discuss the role of the youth and the future of agribusiness in Tanzania.

“TYIAF forum is meant to awaken the youth to know their roles and responsibility in fostering agribusiness practices in Tanzania, and as well connecting them with networks of potential funders,” said Mr Juma Ngomuo, TGFA membership and advocacy coordinator.

Speaking at the forum Katarina Mungure, Agri-Hub Tanzania assistant coordinator said the forum aimed at improving business linkages between the youth in the East African region through partnership with other agri-hubs in East Africa.

Ms Mungure said through Agri-Hub Tanzania online platform the youths had managed to network and connect with markets of their products as well as tapping into existing and emerging agribusiness opportunities in the country.

On the other hand, Mr John Chobo, the managing director of Chobo Investment Limited pointed out that many young people lacked daring spirit to venture into doing businesses, a situation that made the fight against unemployment a difficult undertaking in the country.

“At the moment the rate of rural to urban movements among young people in the country has been rampant, but these could have just stayed in rural areas to produce enough crops and sell them profitably, and create employment for others too,” said Mr Chobo.

“Let’s stop sleeping, let’s wake up and work hard to seize all available opportunities. If we don’t, then our neighbours will come to help us,” Mr Chobo told the youth at the forum, adding that, “opportunities to be an entrepreneurs are all around you right now if you take time to examine challenges you face and filter them through the prism of business.”

For some time now in Tanzania, the youth have invested in creativity and innovations to improve and get involved in the sector, although there were some policy challenges that needed to be addressed to attract many young people in commercial agriculture.

Furthermore, apart from the strides the youth are making in the agricultural sector in the country, the biggest challenge remains that most of these agricultural undertakings in the country are rain-fed, that they can’t be done throughout the year. Agricultural stakeholders say this situation too needs strategic measures to make it possible even during dry seasons.

At TYIAF stakeholders proposed that the deliverance of measures should be in a range of development interventions from the grassroots/community level through a network of both the private and public sector as well as development partners.

They said although there were various efforts to promote the involvement of the youth in agribusiness, still, this was not perceived as a viable business or employment option among learned graduates due to the wrong perception that farm work was the last option and activity for rural poor.

This, however, has attracted a number of media outlets ranging from websites, social media, radio and television stations as well as magazines and newspapers publishing issues related to agriculture to correct wrong perceptions.

Agri-Hub Tanzania as well, uses an online media platform as modern information and communication technology tools to promote farmers’ entrepreneurship in partnership with TGFA, Sugeco and 4-H as well as Farm Africa to attract and promote the youth in agribusiness.

These organisations have been working in bringing the voices of young people to table, providing information on opportunities in agricultural development, sharing success stories of role models in agriculture and advocating greater youth engagement and representation.

It is also important to note that young people also demand products and, in the near future, they will be the world’s largest group of consumers. As such, young people can play another key role: as consumers, a group that is already recognised as a potential driving force for change in our food (and other) systems. Change will not take place if consumers do not demand sustainably produced foods.

UTILITY: More Info about the event

WHY TYIAF

Agri Hub Tanzania in collaboration with a number of civil society, government, institutions of higher learning and private sector organisations set up a versatile and interactive platform that aimed at giving the youth an opportunity to:

• Tap into existing and emerging agribusiness opportunities through online and face to face learning and debate

• Build linkages with agribusiness development agencies that have wide data bases on extension services on specific commodity value chains e.g. edible oil seeds, horticulture based commodities and nutritious foods.

• Link with organisations that offer youth based agribusiness value chain finance support

• Link the youth with the media to promote existing and emerging agribusiness opportunities

• Link the youth with approved and genuine agri input dealers and extension services

• Link the youth agri-entrepreneurs to markets, information and agribusiness Coachers.

• Work with the youth and Agri business professionals to promote farming as a business

• Learn how to use the agri hub online platform as a trading, agribusiness information and agribusiness link platform.