Article b Woman Farmer Foundation
The youth have spoken, and they say they are ready to become climate-smart agripreneurs- they just need knowledge and access to resources.
This was a sentiment shared by youth who visited the Woman Farmer Foundation stall at the Youth Indaba on 22 – 23 June at the Mavuso Trade Centre.
The Woman Farmer (WFF) joined key stakeholders at the Youth in Agriculture Indaba and promoted youth participation in climate-smart agribusinesses.
The Foundation applauds the Ministry of Agriculture for such a great initiative and for exposing the youth to the many opportunities in the agricultural space.
With the increasing impact of climate change and high youth unemployment, the Foundation encouraged youth to integrate climate-adaptive strategies and entrepreneurial thinking to create climate-resilient agribusinesses for improved livelihoods.
WFF shared more about their Innovative Climate Smart Youth Tunnel Production Training Program: a 3-month course covering agribusiness management, protective farming, and growing high-value crops, among other topics.
The training is designed to upskill youth with theoretical and practical knowledge to start climate-resilient agribusinesses. Upon completion, students receive business mentorship and a certificate.
The youth responded very positively to this program, highlighting their enthusiasm to become agripreneurs although they expressed a lack of knowledge on how to grow their business.
The eagerness to learn was seen in the number of male and female youth signing up for the program and asking questions about climate-smart agriculture.
The youth were excited about how the program covered not only agricultural skills, but the business aspect of running such an enterprise, including access to financing, insurance, and tunnel management.
One youth farmer shared how it was exciting for her because, while she had learned about tunnel farming in school, she did not have practical experience. The prospect of applying her pre-existing knowledge was what motivated her to apply.
“We see a great response to the program because young people want to learn and start their businesses. The issue youth face is a lack of knowledge and information in accessing finance and markets. This has allowed WFF to design its programs to bridge the existing gap by ringing relevant stakeholders to lead solutions that are youth-focused.”
The Foundation also engaged the youth in the annual Woman Farmer of the Year Competition which recognizes and develops youth-led agribusinesses through awards inclusive of cash prizes and farming implements worth over E100,000.
The next Tunnel production intake is set to begin in late July and entry to the competition ends 30th June 2023. You can access this link to apply for both initiatives: https://bit.ly/m/womanfarmerprograms or call 7602 7207.