Young people have been advised to embrace agriculture and take it like any other business venture.
The CEO, Kenya climate innovation center, Ruth Ndegwa, says thousands of youth graduate from Universities, middle level colleges and Technical institutes but they lack jobs which leads some of them to be involved in irresponsible and immoral deeds.
Speaking at Posta grounds in Bungoma during an agribusiness exhibition, Ms Ndegwa asked Kenyan youth to try agribusiness instead of idling in villages waiting for evasive white collar jobs.
“We have seen many youths graduate from Universities and colleges but due to limited employment opportunities some of them end up idling in the village yet agribusiness is the simplest way of making money,” she said adding economic, social and environmental factors need not reduce rural youth involvement in agricultural production.
Economic factors hampering youth involvement in agriculture she said include inadequate credit facilities, low farming profit margins, lack of agricultural insurance and initial capital.
She said other factors include public perception about farming and parental influence to move out of agriculture, inadequate land, continuous poor harvests, poor basic farming knowledge, insufficient access to tractors and other farm inputs and lack of ready market.
She pointed out that in 2020, the Kenya climate innovation center signed an MOU with Bungoma county government to be supporting farmers to plant different varieties of crops saying the initiative has enhanced agriculture in Western region.
“The climate change innovation centre has transformed many small scale farmers and elevated them to high levels, “she said adding that they teach farmers how to produce quality products. My organization works with agricultural extension officers up to the village level to ensure that farmers are well versed with the type of farming they are engaging in,” she said.
She said that during an exhibition, farmers are given a platform to showcase their farming skills and display their goods to the public to get market.
The organization, she added also awards loans and grants to farmers to be able to purchase farm inputs.
