Young farmers in the country and the continent at large are set to be equipped and upskilled with different farming techniques following the pact between Farmer on Fire and Founders Connect Africa.
This is with the ambition to address the non-ending food insecurity challenge while turning the youths' agricultural ventures profitable.
The partnership will see them trained on sustainable farming techniques, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and marketing in a bid to lure the young population to bet on Agriculture, in a continent where the average farmer is 60 years old.
Farmer on Fire will train on the farming aspect while Founders Connect Africa will train on the business aspect.
Some of the farming aspects to be trained on include vegetable farming, mushroom production, chicken farming, goat farming, rabbit farming, composting, water harvesting, greenhouse farming and fruit farming among others.
“Smallholder farming is by far the most common profession among families. In sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, 80 percent of the food supply comes from small family farms, but most of these farms are producing only a fraction of their potential," said Farmer on Fire CEO Wangari Kuria.
"Improving the productivity and success of smallholder farmers is imperative as we work to end extreme poverty. Even incremental increases in productivity would significantly improve local food security.”
On his part, Founders Connect Africa CEO Kang’ethe Njoroge says food insecurity remains a serious challenge for many households in Africa and the situation is even more prevalent among young people.
"Youth engagement in agriculture across Africa can play a key role in ending food insecurity on the continent but only if supported with modern and environmentally friendly techniques as well as trained in the financial aspect of things," Njoroge said.
Registration for the first cohort who will be trained on profitable chicken farming set for November 3 -4 is ongoing.
