AGRA

Can the African Agribusiness Youth Strategy (AAYS) become the blueprint for meaningful youth inclusion in agribusiness in East Africa? The answer is a resounding yes!

The Africa Union Commission (AUC) in collaboration with AGRA and the East African Community organised the AAYS East African Regional Dialogue in Kampala, Uganda in mid-November. The forum convened young agripreneurs, government representatives, and development partners to align on a shared vision of positioning youth at the centre of agricultural development across the African continent.

70 Percent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under 30, providing a unique chance to tap into the region’s youth and harness its energy. However, with 15 million youth in Africa joining the job market every year and only 3 million jobs available, the challenges are unavoidable.

The Director of Agriculture and Rural Development at the AUC, Dr Godfrey Bahiigwa, was among the keynote speakers who emphasised the youth’s potential in agricultural development.

“Agenda 2063 is the AU’s strategic framework for socio-economic transformation across Africa. Aspiration 6 emphasises an ‘Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of African people, especially its women and youth,’” he noted.

The dialogue also highlighted the AUC’s 1 Million Next Level Initiative, which aims to provide opportunities for 300 million African youth by 2030 across five key pillars: Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship, Engagement, and Health & Wellbeing. This initiative complements the AAYS by ensuring that youth not only find their place in agribusiness but are empowered to lead and innovate within the sector.

One constant discovery throughout the discussion was youth awareness—or lack thereof—of frameworks such as CAADP (Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program).  CAADP was created to foster agricultural sector investments in African countries with the goal of promoting agricultural growth, food security, and poverty reduction. It provides a framework for governments to design policies and strategies that will support long-term agricultural development.  Many young people in the region are unaware of how these frameworks influence the opportunities available in agribusiness. This knowledge gap must be closed if youth are to properly participate and benefit from measures such as the AAYS.

The AAYS offers governments a practical framework for developing youth-friendly policies while tackling structural constraints such as access to land, money, and markets. For the youth, it provides a pathway to becoming active participants in agribusiness and having a voice in defining their future. The strategy’s use of clear indicators also assures alignment with CAADP targets, giving a transparent system for tracking progress and accountability.

East Africa has significantly fertile lands and well-developed agricultural markets, which provide the ground for the effective deployment of the AAYS. Currently, agriculture is still the most dominant sector in East Africa, contributing 30 % of the GDP and providing employment to 65% of the population, hence making it the most appropriate sector for youthful innovation.

Through this dialogue, the participating regions demonstrated their support for diversity, integration, and implementation. The strategies developed in Kampala will be useful for guaranteeing that East Africa’s performance goes beyond CAADP benchmarks.