JOY (Jobs Open to the Youth): Boosting rural youth employment opportunities through integrated agribusiness hubs in Cameroon and Kenya

Population growth in Africa raises alarms on food supply yet the continent’s youth population presents a powerful opportunity for accelerated economic growth and innovation. However, this demographic dividend also presents economic and social challenges in terms of Food Production Trends, food demand and security. The objective of the integrated agribusiness hubs project is boosting rural youth empowerment and decent employment opportunities by supporting integrated agribusiness hubs in Cameroon and Kenya for 2500 youth (50% female, 50 male) direct beneficiaries. These are youths in the territories from IFAD supported projects that are between the ages of 18-40 years. The project will also contribute to the role of agriculture transformation and as an engine to reduce poverty improving general wellbeing through better access to nutrient-rich food in Africa. 2020 and following years will be marked by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa and the world, which impacted negatively on rural youth employment and pushed many youths out of the formal workforce. The project fully aligns with the IFAD Strategic Framework 2016-2025. The project Theory of Change addresses four critical reasons for sub-optimal integration of integration of youth in agriculture value chains. These are: 1) Non conducive enabling environment for youth employment; 2) Limited access for youth to land, technologies, finance and services; 3) Lack of knowledge and technical skills of youth and service providers: 4) Negative perception of agriculture as unattractive to young people. In reply to these challenges, the project characteristics include mobilizing synergies with selected projects and initiatives of the ongoing IFAD portfolio in the three target countries. Innovations in implementing the country-level interactions by the Procasur-led consortium partners focus on unlocking gainful opportunities around agripreneurship. In view of the persistence of COVID-19, traditional face-to-face learning will be replaced by means and methods that appeal to the youth, are within their means of accessibility and connectivity, and that offer space for mentoring and coaching. Accents will be put on (sections of) value chains that offer powerful and meaningful entry points for female and male youth in the context of the respective project regions (No ‘one-size-fits-all’). Participants-beneficiaries will carefully be selected, i.e. through competitions that include principles of accountability, commitment, and performance. The project, proposed as a 4-year grant, intends to be catalytic in bringing local stakeholders together along the selected value chains, or key moments of it. Knowledge management, learning and sharing, particularly of peer-to-peer and hub-to-satellite dimensions, will inform COSOPs, supervision missions, new project designs and policy dialogue. Scaling up learning and will have an in-country and inter-regional as well as a South-South Triangular Cooperation connotation. The project will represent a most desirable learning-cum-innovation implementation project that will appeal to IFAD, partners and stakeholders alike.

Project symbol

GLO/21/38/PRO

Admin unit

EMPLAB

Start date

06/06/2022

End date

30/06/2025

Total allocation

145422

Total expenditure

Status

Active

131946

Development Partners

Corporación PROCASUR

Country/Countries

Global

Outcomes

Outcome 3: Full and productive employment for just transitions