Introductory message by Ken Lohento, (CTA, ARDYIS Project) at the Centre for Development Innnovation (CDI)'s Market Access Short Courses - Wageningen University, Netherlands, January 2016 What role can agri-entrepreneurship and farming innovations play to engage young people in the agricultural sector?

1. Youth
entrepreneurship
in agriculture
Setting the scene
Ken LOHENTO
Program Coordinator
ARDYIS Project
CTA
CDI WUR market access short courses
Netherlands, 20 Jan 2016

2. CTA
• Technical Centre for Agriculture and
Rural Cooperation (CTA)
EU – ACP joint institution, 1983,
based in Netherlands
• Mission
 advance food and nutritional security
 increase prosperity
 encourage sound natural resource
management
• Via
 information and knowledge/ICT,
policy dialogue, strengthening
capacity, developing value chains
Youth in agriculture
= cross-cutting issue

3. What do we mean by Entrepreneurship?
New good or quality thereof
New method of production
Opening of a new market
New source of supply/material
New organisation of industry
Entrepreneurship
(Schumpeter,1934)
Innovation
Risk
taking
High
GROWTH
Small business management
Specific needs for supporting entrepreneurship
Agro-entrepreneur
#
Exploitant agricole

4. Source:
Global Entrepreneurship
Index 2016

5. Youth bulge and unemployement imply need of
entrepreneurship
• Young Africans are 3 times more likely than adults
to be unemployed
• 62% of Sub-saharan Africa are under 25
• Up to 60% of young people in developing
countries are either without work, not studying,
or engaged in irregular employment (Jacqui Kew,
GEM, 2015) – ILO rates lower consider specific variables.
• Many successful young agri-preneurs are not agricultural
specialists

6. • USA: “99% of all employers are small business
owners. -- 75% of the new jobs created every year -
- responsible for 96% of all exported goods.” (in the
USA)
• Rapid job creation comes from rapid growing
companies (Global Entrepreneurship Index, 2016)
• The age range 25 – 34 is home to the highest
entrepreneurial activity (GEI)
Importance of entrepreneurship and business
for economies

7. Status of Youth entrepreneurial activities in Africa
Uganda =
country with the
highest youth
entrepreneurship
in Africa (but the
majority of these
businesses create few new
jobs)
(Source: Africa’s young
entrepreneurs…GEM,
IDRC, 2015)

8. Youth business and impacts on the livelihoods of the entrepreneur (2013)
Source: Jacqui K,
GEM, IDRC 2015

9. Source: Jacqui K,GEM, IDRC 2015
Self unemployed are in the retail sector or SC
agriculture sector, with low sustainabilty

10. Gender business disparity
Source: Jacqui
K,GEM, IDRC
2015

11. Youth businesses by sector, GEM study
Source:
Jacqui
K,GEM,
IDRC 2015

12. • 73% of youth businesses indicated that they were
using old technologies or procedures (that were available
more than five years ago)
• 65% of low growth businesses operators have only
a primary school education, while 80% of those
running high-growth businesses have completed
higher education
Status of Youth entrepreneurial activities in
Africa
Source: Jacqui K,GEM, IDRC 2015

13. Agribusiness opportunities in all agricultural
value chain segments for youth
Source: Montpellier Panel Report, 2014

14. • Agribusiness training
• Social media for agribusiness
• Youth climate smart agribusiness project idea (FIJEV 2014+, with OIF, Gov Niger)
• E-discussion and publication (with AGRA, FAO/IFAD, etc.)
• Promoton of e-Agriculture entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneurial blog awarded by YoBloCo Awards
• Soon (2016):
 A regional agribusiness WebTV in francophone Africa, to
promote youth agribusiness (led by MediaProd in Burkina Faso)
 Project on climate smart agriculture, agribusiness (Zambia)
 Virtual youth agribusiness incubation platform in the
Caribbean (IICA)
 etc
Some CTA youth Agribusiness activities

15. Offering ICT/mobile services for Agriculture
CTA promotes e-Agriculture entrepreneurship
e.g. Ensibuuko offers mobile
financial services to more than 60
000 farmers in Uganda

16. Agri-entrepreneurship areas of
challenges and solutions for youth
Education/Training
(post secondary education,
vocational training)
Favorable
agribusiness policies
Access to Land
ICT ,Technology
Access to finance
(crowdfunding, business angel,
investors,, commodity exchange,
etc.)
Business support
(ecosystem, incubation, etc.)

17. Source:
Global Entrepreneurship
Index 2016

18. Some key resources
• Unlocking the potential of Africa’s young entrepreneurs
http://bit.ly/young-entrepreneurs-africa (Jacqui K, GEM, IDRC,
2015)
• Africa Agriculture Status Report – 2015: Youth in Agriculture in SSA
(AGRA, 2015) http://www.agra.org/media-centre/news/africa-
agriculture-status-report--2015-/
• Youth and Agriculture: Key Challenges and Concrete Solutions (CTA,
FAO, IFAD, 2013) http://bit.ly/youth-CTA-FAO-IFAD
• CTA: http://www.cta.int
• CTA Youth in agriculture and ICT program (ARDYIS):
http://www.facebook.com/ardyis - http://ardyis.cta.int

19. Thank you
lohento@cta.int
www.cta.int
www.facebook.com/ardyis