Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
0 | P a g e
CONFERENCE REPORT
FAO – Regional Office for Africa, 2018.
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
1 | P a g e
Table of Contents i. List of Acronyms ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
ii. Quick facts ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
iii. Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................................................................. 4
I. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
II. Conference proceedings ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6
III. Key outcomes/take-aways from the Conference per thematic area/side event .............................................................................. 11
IV. Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
V. Key recommendations ........................................................................................................................................................................ 15
VI. Annexes.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 16
1. List of Participants ........................................................................................................................................................................ 16
2. Conference Concept Note & Annotated Agenda ........................................................................................................................ 16
3. Conference Background Document ............................................................................................................................................. 16
4. Kigali Youth Communiqué............................................................................................................................................................ 16
5. Report of the FSN Forum Online Consultation ............................................................................................................................ 16
6. Session proceedings reports ........................................................................................................................................................ 16
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
2 | P a g e
i. List of Acronyms
ABG: Africa Business Group
AFRACA: Association Africaine de Crédit Rural et Agricole
AGRA: African Green Revolution Forum
AUC: African Union Commission
CAADP: Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program
CABI: Centre for Agricultural Bioscience International
CTA: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation
FAO: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
GoR: Government of Rwanda
IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural Development
IITA: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
ILO: International Labor Organisation
NEPAD: New Partnership for African Development
UNIDO: United Nations Industrial Development Organisation
WMO: World Meteorological Organisation
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
3 | P a g e
ii. Quick facts
Organisers of the Conference & Partners
Organisers: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in conjunction with the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Government of Rwanda (GoR). Partners: UNIDO, ILO, CABI, CTA, WMO, AGRA, AFRACA, Smart Africa, ABG, Master Card Foundation, IITA, IFAD.
Nº of participants 465
Countries of origin for the Youth present at the Conference
Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Angola, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Comoros, Djibouti, South Sudan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Lesotho, Sao Tome & Principe, Togo, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Botswana, Mozambique, Malawi, Guinea, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Namibia, Singapore.
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
4 | P a g e
iii. Executive Summary
Considering agriculture as an essential driver of economic development and an area of great opportunities for young people in
Africa, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in conjunction with the African Union Commission and
the Government of Rwanda (in partnership with other organizations) convened a regional conference from 20th to 21st August 2018
in Kigali, Rwanda on the theme: Youth Employment in Agriculture as a Solid Solution to ending Hunger and Poverty in Africa:
Engaging through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Entrepreneurship.
The 2-day conference was officially opened on behalf of His Excellency Paul KAGAME, President of the Republic of Rwanda, by Hon.
Geraldine Mukeshimana, Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources. Statements were also made by Josefa Leonel
Correia Sacko, African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture, Li Yong, Director General of the United Nations
Industrial Development Organisation, and José Graziano da Silva, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the
United Nations.
After the Opening Session, discussions progressed to the drivers of youth-centered entrepreneurship and innovations in agriculture
and agribusiness around the following major themes: Entrepreneurship and ICT innovations in agri-food systems for youth; Digital
solutions to overcome agriculture value-chain related constraints; Access to finance, markets and skills development for an effective,
profitable and viable agro-entrepreneurship; and the Future of work in the rural economy. Several side events were also organised,
including a digital innovation track (Hackathon); an exchange of experiences and lessons learned on a FAO/NEPAD youth
employment project being implemented in Benin, Niger, Cameroon and Malawi; a matchmaking/networking session as well as an
exhibition by the youth, FAO and partner-organisations of different products and services.
As a result of the discussions, five major recommendations were registered. These include: (i) to initiate a web-based regional
platform for information and knowledge sharing on job opportunities for the youth in agri-food systems, as well as on services
offered by different stakeholders (the youth, governments, development partners, financial institutions, academia, etc); (ii) to
explore options for institutionalising similar dialogues/consultations on an annual or biennial basis; (iii) to support the
establishment of National Youth Platforms, similar to the Youth in Agribusiness Forum of Rwanda; (iv) to support the launch of a
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
5 | P a g e
Youth Innovation Technical Assistance Facility for Africa (following the pledge made by Rwanda during the Conference to establish
such a facility for the Rwandan youth) and encourage other African countries to join the initiative; and (v) to convene follow up
consultations and develop a detailed roadmap/Action Plan (by end of September 2018), taking into consideration the key outcomes,
commitments and pledges from the conference.
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
6 | P a g e
I. Introduction There has been increasing recognition of the strategic importance of agriculture for job creation and inclusive, broad-based growth.
Due to lagging structural transformation, a large percentage (62%) of the population in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is still heavily
reliant on agriculture for income and employment, primarily in family farms and, in fact, agriculture is the most important source of
employment for women in SSA (50%). Rapidly growing demand for food and value addition is creating new market opportunities
for producers and processors as well as scope for substantial job creation, particularly for the youth.
It is in this context that the Government of Rwanda, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the
African Union in partnership with other organizations convened a regional conference from 20 to21 August 2018 in Kigali, Rwanda
on the theme: Youth Employment in Agriculture as a Solid Solution to ending Hunger and Poverty in Africa: Engaging through
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and Entrepreneurship.
The conference aimed at fostering an exchange among stakeholders (policy makers, development partners, the private sector,
youth and women organizations, civil society organizations, research and academia) on knowledge and best practices regarding the
interfaces between agriculture, youth employment, entrepreneurship, ICT innovations in agriculture and rural development.
II. Conference proceedings
The Conference was officially opened on behalf of His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda by
Hon. Geraldine Mukeshimana, Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, who conveyed the following key messages:
“Africa is endowed with all ingredients needed for moving fast from potential to real economic transformation and growth in
agriculture is 2-3 times more effective at reducing poverty than an equivalent amount of growth generated in other sectors”.
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
7 | P a g e
“The main outcome from this two-day event will be to boost youth engagement and interest in agriculture in order to create
a solid foundation towards eradicating poverty through decent youth employment which is an integral part of the agenda of
wealth creation and shared prosperity in Africa, consistent with African Union Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable
Development Goals”.
“To the young people: this is your opportunity to be in the same room with these great leaders discussing your role in
agriculture. We are here because we believe in you as being smart, hardworking and capable to do real business in
Agriculture and lead Africa to the zero hunger”.
Prior to the keynote speech, three statements were made by Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, African Union Commissioner for Rural
Economy and Agriculture; Li Yong, Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and José Graziano
da Silva, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
It is worth mentioning the following few but important messages (among others) from the three statements, which set the tone for
subsequent discussions:
“We need to double our efforts and join hands to mobilize more resources for youths in agriculture and agribusiness, for
employment creation. We need to see a proliferation of youth enterprises along the agricultural, animal production and
fisheries value chains” said Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko;
“Agri-food industry, especially food processing in rural areas can provide massive job opportunities for the youth” Said Li Yong;
“In the next 15 years, nearly 220 million young people will enter the labor market in Sub-Saharan Africa, therefore it is
fundamental to improve the absorption capacity of domestic labour markets” remarked Jose Graziano da Silva, adding: “One
third of all international migrants from developing countries are between 12 and 24 years of age, therefore we need to take
action to make agriculture more attractive to young people”.
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
8 | P a g e
After the Opening Session, the conference discussed the importance of known drivers of youth-centered entrepreneurship and
innovations in agriculture and agribusiness around the following major themes:
Youth and entrepreneurship which focused on solutions that offer new opportunities for youth entrepreneurship, including
on-farm and beyond, along agricultural value chains. This theme was discussed during the following sessions:
A high-level panel made of Rwanda’s Minister of Information Technology & Communications, Leaders of WMO,
AGRA, IFAD, CABI, ILO and FAO who shared their perspectives on the topic and made recommendations around
concrete actions to be prioritised going forward.
A “Voice of the Youth” session, during which six successful young entrepreneurs from Rwanda, Kenya, Zimbabwe,
Nigeria, Senegal and Singapore shared their experiences and lessons with the audience (other youth in particular),
while voicing some challenges that need particular attention. These youth also made specific recommendations on
the way forward, which were translated into a Kigali Youth Communiqué (annexed hereto) as one of the conference
outcomes.
Parallel sessions were conducted around the following themes:
Digital solutions to overcome agriculture value-chain related constraints, which focused on technological solutions that
support youth-related innovations and modern production technologies in agriculture.
Access to finance, markets and skills for an effective, profitable and viable agro-entrepreneurship in which the current
status in Africa of financial products, skills development initiatives and access to market platforms & other programs was
discussed with an emphasis on initiatives tailored to addressing the needs of the youth in agriculture. Specific
recommendations were also made for consideration by various stakeholders at regional and national levels.
Future of work in the rural economy. A dialogue facilitated by ILO included representatives of FAO, NEPAD, Egyptian
Federation of Industries, International Trade Union Confederation, the Youth Arm of the CAADP and resulted in specific
recommendations on how to strengthen the process of transforming the work for youth in agriculture.
In addition to the main thematic sessions, side events were organised. These included:
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
9 | P a g e
i. A digital innovation track (hackathon), which engaged youth on creating new innovative solutions and ways to elevate
existing innovations to achieve a results-oriented approach. Three complementary innovation teams - #HackAgainstHunger,
#AgriBootCamp, #AgriPitch- were established prior to the conference to aspire young innovators. Results from these
activities were presented at the closing of the conference, where all hackers were recognised, with special recognition to the
top three teams.
ii. Virtual consultations were conducted, prior to the Conference, to engage youth from across the continent on thematic
areas of the conference. Videos were streamed and conference interviews as well as other types of media coverage were
executed during the conference. The following are some of the key messages from the online consultation:
“Agriculture has a very poor image among African youth and lacks role models for them to learn from or aspire to be. This is a well-known issue. What concrete actions are being taken by the governments and development partners to address this image problem and support the youth who could emerge and act as role models?” [Contributors: Aimé Kazika, DRC; Prosper Niyonkuru, Burundi; Ednah Karamagi, Uganda]
“African youth engaged in agriculture, who surmount the challenges of lack of access to finance, markets and land, face the challenge related to competition from imported agricultural products/produce. As a result, most youth-led enterprises on the continent fail to sustain themselves due to this competition”. [Contributors: Obonyo Alphonse Francis, Uganda; Tang Erasmus Nchuaji, Cameroon]
“The school curriculum in Africa is not preparing the African youth for work in the agriculture sector. This problem cuts across all levels of education, from primary to university”. [Contributors: Aimé Kazika, DRC; Adebayo Depo, Togo; Obonyo Alphonse Francis, Uganda; Henry Machina, Zambia]
Agriculture research organizations/institutes in Africa have generated many technologies and innovations to help the farmers. How easily accessible are these technologies/innovations to the youth who want to engage in agriculture? [Contributors: Houéfa Adido, Benin; Kelvin Mupeta, Zambia]
iii. Digital strategy focusing on youth engagement in social media channels – the digital campaign aimed to (1) raise awareness
about contemporary Africa , breaking down the stereotypes and showcasing a new image of young Africans engaged in the
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
10 | P a g e
agricultural sector through innovative ideas and products that can help overcome some of the key challenges faced by this
primary sector and impact local growth and development. (2) And to tell stories of young innovators who made a change
and impacted people’s lives, food security and livelihoods, including inspiring stories on youth employment in a continent
where 60 percent of the youth population between 15 and 24 is unemployed. Activities carried out:
o Facebook Live session on Day 2 of the Conference provided an opportunity to show how young Africans are finding
alternative ways to succeed in the agribusiness sector. A couple of inspiring stories from young entrepreneurs, their
motivation and challenges. Result was traffic on fao.org with successful number of likes, comments, and shares on
the channel.
o Podcasts on success stories of digital innovation implemented in the agribusiness with focus on the youth having the
potential to generate economic growth and transformation across Africa through digital innovation.
o Webcasting on demand – videos fed into digital platforms and platforms included Rwanda Broadcasting Agency’s
Youtube channel and website as well as FAO video archives.
o Social media campaign was set up with a focus on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram, using promoted posts
as well as live reporting from the floor. The Social Media Team composed of volunteer youths provided posted live
updates and dynamically engaged with the digital audience. Result was an increase in digital engagement.
iv. Innovative products and services in agriculture and rural development were exhibited by the African youth as well as by
various development organisations. In total, 20 booths were set up to accommodate different products and materials
highlighting different organisations and representing the geographic diversity of the continent.
v. Youth and potential investors as well as development partners also participated in a networking/matchmaking session on
the second day of the conference. Eleven (11) organisations/companies and more than 100 youth took part in the session,
while other arrangements were made at participants’ convenience through WHOVA, an event management software, which
enabled participants to connect directly. In addition to the networking features of WHOVA, the software through its mobile
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
11 | P a g e
app provided a platform for participants to engage with the event organizers before and during the conference. Access to
the app will remain active for the next 6 months.
vi. FAO and NEPAD jointly organized a side event on the status of a project (being implemented under the Africa Solidarity
Trust Fund) which is aimed at promoting decent rural youth employment and entrepreneurship in agriculture. The purpose
of the side event was to exchange lessons & experiences on the project, discuss how to scale it up in beneficiary countries,
and replicate it in others.
III. Key outcomes/take-away messages from the Conference per thematic area/side event
Youth and
entrepreneurship: high
level Panel and Voice of
the Youth
Digital innovations to
overcome agriculture
value-chain related
constraints
Access to finance, markets and skills for an
effective, profitable and viable agro-
entrepreneurship
Future of Work in Rural
Economy
Side event on digital
innovation track
(hackathon)
Side event on
the ASTF youth
employment
project
High-Level Panel
Agriculture is a big
business.
Look at
financing/investment
in agriculture as a
business opportunity
and not as a charity
or public sector
responsibility alone.
Disseminate existing
The creation of a
digital innovation
ecosystem will unlock
employment
opportunities in the
agriculture sector
contributing to
ending poverty and
food insecurity.
The right
environment can
enable the
Access to Finance & Markets
Credit needs to be available to farmers
at a reasonable price. The only way to
ascertain this is by sharing risk. If
Governments are willing and able to
share risk with Financial Service
Providers (FSP), the expectation is that
the FSP will invest more in the
Agriculture sector while being able to
lend at interest rates that are more
reasonable.
Financial Service Providers and young
Investments in
agricultural
development,
enhancing agricultural
productivity and
helping small-scale
producers and SMEs
shift into higher value
added activities in the
supply chain is essential
for the overall process
of productive
transformation and
Through a 2-days
Hack Against Hunger
exercise, FAO
promoted the need
to invest in the most
innovative businesses
and support rural
communities through
digital and financial
inclusion initiatives.
95 teams from 20
African countries
South-South Cooperation and peer learning should be encouraged to scale up the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund Project.
Strengthening communicatio
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
12 | P a g e
good practices on
youth in agribusiness.
Explore opportunities
to scale up successful
models.
“Voice of the Youth”
Need to change the
image and
conversation around
agriculture. Shift
focus onto the
opportunities, and
profits to be made
through production
and value addition to
African products.
Support is needed to
help young
agripreneurs
establish operations
and scale up.
Mentorships,
provision of inputs,
understanding and
compliance with
standards, business
plan development
guidance, etc.
Youth should be
development of
innovative solutions
and business models
to provide concrete
actions for an
agriculture sector
that is more
competitive and more
inclusive.
entrepreneurs should have open
discussions in which they each learn
about the other sectors’ needs and
expectations. This will lead to successful
partnerships.
Without access to consistent market
linkages, youth will not be able to engage
in viable and sustainable agricultural
ventures.
Understanding the barriers of
smallholder farmers to markets and
address those barriers is key to promote
livelihoods of youth in agriculture and in
food systems.
Skills development
Skills development should not be an end in
itself. It should be linked with other
factors of production in order to lead to
the start and growth of profitable
enterprises by the youth
Strengthen collaboration between
universities and the private sector in order
to deliver demand- driven skills
development
Incubation and other training / skills
development programmes should be
based on specific business opportunities
with high prospects of profitability
Skills development should be holistic,
economic
diversification of rural
economies. Rural
tourism and
construction are sectors
with great potential of
job creation in the rural
economy.
The commitment of
multiple stakeholders
and the participation of
youth themselves in
decision-making and
policymaking processes
is key. Organizing and
empowering young
workers in the rural
economy, in particular
young women, requires
a holistic approach that
includes changing
norms. Building the
capacity of young
leaders through
adequate mentoring
programmes is central
to their engagement.
The future of work is
not carved in stone. It is
for Africa’s youth to
applied for this
opportunity, but only
8 teams from
Rwanda, Zambia,
Cameroon, Uganda,
Benin, Nigeria and
Senegal were
retained to go
through the digital
innovation track
(hackathon), which
was made of three
complementary
components -
#HackAgainstHunger,
#AgriBootCamp,
#AgriPitch.
As a result of the
#AgriPitch, the top
three winners were
from Zambia,
Rwanda and Benin
(1st, 2nd and 3rd
respectively). FAO
will contribute in
increasing capacities,
exposure and
visibility for the
winning teams as a
token of
recognition/motivati
n strategies to enable the sharing of lessons from countries benefiting from the project is vital.
RECs should consider setting up youth forums to encourage experience and knowledge sharing by project beneficiaries with other youth across Africa.
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
13 | P a g e
involved in the
formulation and
implementation of
policies, which
directly affect them.
being specific on a business opportunity,
but also including problem solving skills,
life skills, etc.
Encourage youth to go to school for other
studies beyond agriculture; other sectors
can inform future business operations
(accounting, management, etc.)
shape
on.
IV. Conclusions
The demographic dividend remains central to accomplishing Africa’s aspiration for economic transformation (two-thirds of Africa’s population is aged 35 and below) and 10-12 million new jobs will have to be created every year for the new labour market entrants over the next 20 years. With well targeted investments, the large youth population can make a significant contribution to high and inclusive growth as well as poverty reduction;
At the dawn of implementation of both the Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, African Heads of State and Government declared at the 29th Ordinary Summit of the AU held in July 2017 the period of “2018–2027” as “the African Decade for Technical, Professional and Entrepreneurial Training and Youth Employment”. The Summit also endorsed the African Youth Fund and the Pan-African Youth Forum was institutionalized. This is particularly relevant for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1 on “ending poverty in all its forms everywhere”, SDG 8 on “promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all” and SDG 5 on “achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls”.
The agricultural sector has a huge potential to offer attractive employment opportunities for Africa’s youth. Increasing youth-inclusive investments to modernize the sector is critical to unleash this potential;
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
14 | P a g e
Youth focused policies and programmes should not be standalone. They need to be integrated into countries’ overall development strategies, national investment plans, agricultural and rural development plans, migration policies, gender equality and other development frameworks and young women and men must be involved in the design of such strategies;
Governments will need to continuously improve the business environments in order to stimulate private sector investments targeting youth, while making strategic investments in public goods and services. Particular attention needs to be paid to ensuring that private sector investments include segments of the value chain where capital is missing (e.g. input supply marketing, transformation) and where there is potential for creating new jobs and apprenticeships for the youth;
Investing in developing skills and education of youth to bridge the gap between labour supply and demand remains critical. Youth need access to quality training, in order to develop relevant skills for the labour market (supply), and decent farm and off-farm employment opportunities within agri-food value chains (demand). This includes training in business and soft skills, ICT, incubation and mentoring. Delivery modalities should be also adapted to rural realities (e.g. mobile schools for nomad communities);
Platforms and mechanisms for youth engagement on policies and employment opportunities need to be enhanced. Strengthening the youth voice in policy dialogue also requires youth to be united and effectively organized. National youth organisations need to be established and capacities of existing ones should be strengthened to enable them effectively make their voice heard, and strengthen their position in negotiating for specific support or policy instruments.
Agriculture must be rebranded to highlight the business opportunities and potential for youth to engage in the sector. Development agencies and educational institutions have an important role to play in the narratives propagated about who works in agriculture and how their work is presented to the community at large.
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
15 | P a g e
V. Key recommendations
1. Building on existing IT applications, forums such as the Food Security & Nutrition Forum, , to initiate or strengthen online regional platforms for information and knowledge sharing on job opportunities for the youth in agri-food systems, as well as on services offered by different stakeholders (the youth, governments, development partners, financial institutions, academia, etc).
2. To explore possible options for responding to the request (reference to the youth communiqué) of institutionalising the regional youth conference and convene similar dialogues/consultations on an annual or biennial basis. Among other options for consideration, such dialogues could be hosted in the sidelines of the biennial FAO Africa Regional Conference (ARC) or to organize events similar to the Youth Employment in Agriculture Conference on an annual or biennial basis.
3. Equally in response to the Youth communiqué, to support establishment of National Youth Platforms, to stimulate more
involvement of the youth in policy dialogues and jointly increase their ability to meaningfully contribute to the transformation of the agricultural sector.
4. To support the launch of a Youth Innovation Technical Assistance Facility for Africa (following the pledge made by
Rwanda during the Conference to establish such a facility for the Rwandan youth) and encourage other African countries to join initiative through facilitation of stakeholder consultations on the scheme at national and regional levels. This Facility will aim at channeling investment in youth led agri SMEs at different stages of maturity; at promoting open innovation and fostering the discovery and development of youth-focused innovative technologies and business models in Sub-Saharan Africa.
5. As a next step, to convene follow up consultations and develop a detailed roadmap/Action Plan, taking into
consideration the key outcomes, commitments and pledges from the conference.
Republic of Rwanda
Ministry of Agriculture
and Animal Resources
16 | P a g e
VI. Annexes
1. List of Participants
2. Conference Concept Note & Annotated Agenda
3. Conference Background Document
4. Kigali Youth Communiqué
5. Report of the FSN Forum Online Consultation
6. Session proceedings reports