Young people face many barriers to agriculture, particularly access to land with decent security of tenure, especially challenging for women. Something we have been working to address in kenya.
The also need cash to come in on a regular basis and have little money to invest. after a lot of analysis we focused on chicken, tomatoes and African leafy green vegeables (only 30 days to market)
Circular economy approaches can help to reduce costs.
In the area around Lake Victoria in Kenya, Practical Action work with businesses that produce livestock feed (e.g. black fly maggots) from a combination of crop residues and local household waste. The livestock produce manure which is used on the crops, creating a virtuous circle that links production and waste generation is created. This process creates jobs, supports regenerative agriculture, improves productivity and diversifies farmersâ incomes.
And one concern I have is that the good actors, especially in the corporate space, will be undercut by others with fewer scruples. If sustainable production leads to higher costs, say, will some consumers move away and will some of the market share be captured by cheaper, less sustainable alternatives? There shouldnât be a green premium!
it is crucial to engage and involve young people in climate action initiatives related to agriculture. Youth can contribute fresh perspectives, innovation, and energy to finding sustainable solutions for farmer livelihoods and food security. Creating platforms for youth involvement and empowering them through leadership and skills development can foster inclusive and youth-led actions in agriculture, strengthening the sectorâs resilience and ensuring a sustainable future for farmers and food security in Africa.
Among the many priorities here, we need to talk about making more visible women in data around agricultural production. Agricultural censuses, for example, usually list men as head of farming households and donât log womenâs contributions. This makes it very difficult to understand womenâs incredible contributions â which we all know â and need to make more visible.
Youâre absolutely right. The limited access to land, especially with secure tenure, is a significant hurdle for young people, particularly in Kenya and across Africa. Itâs a systemic challenge that impacts their ability to engage in agriculture. Addressing this issue is crucial for fostering a new generation of successful and sustainable farmers. Initiatives like the one youâre involved in are instrumental in creating opportunities for young people to thrive in agriculture.
For me the core difference that businesses can make is by taking a holistic whole farm approach. Yes a business may want a specific cash crop - I work in PPPs in which the supply chain crop is vanilla, mint, coconut and natural cosmetic ingredients - but it is equally as important that smallholder farmers are assisted with improving the quality, productivity and yield of their subsistence food crops as well.
In the case of my work, a good farmer is good at farming many things not just the single cash crop destined for the export market.
Thanks all for these great insights and resources being shared here!
Iâd like to reference some resources shared by the Advancing Womenâs Empowerment (AWE) program on best practices, emerging learning, and practical examples on supporting womenâs empowerment in agriculture systems.
I donât think that anyone has mentioned it so far, but one of the biggest opportunities is providing smallholder farmers with access to QUALITY INPUTS.
That could be quality planting material - right variety of seeds, quality seedlings, assistance in how to propagate plants, etc. - or it could also be the right type of agrochemical (fertilisers, safe pesticides, organic treatments, Integrated Pest Management) input available at the right price.
Those technical support services also need to include effective soil, water and disease management if we want to see Regenerative Agriculture practices really succeed. As I said in my other response, it should also include a whole farm approach not simply the primary cash crop.
At Symrise in partnership with GIZ, we built a multi-project PPP programme with the two co-host organisations together with the following partners:
Madagascar: Unilever, Save The Children + contributions from Friesland Campina and Kelloggâs + local NGOâs
Philippines: Pernod Ricard, Franklin Baker
Brazil: Natura
India: (1) Mars & Tanager International (2) Haleon
The success has been empowered by integrating the common motivations and the unique capabilities of each of the partner organisations.
Together the programme, called Bridging The Gap, has reached over 40,000 smallholder farmers and 200,000+ community beneficiaries.
Iâve got a particular interest in Women Leadership activities that have proven to work in remote smallholder farming communities. Aiming to establish a multi-project (India, Madagascar, Brazil) framework for a leadership development curriculum that is gender-positive towards women but not exclusionary to men (so as to avoid the potential for community tension) - any thoughts on who is already working in this area would be excellent.
Our partners GIZ India have done some really good work in piloting localised remote weather stations that can alert farmers as to when rain is imminent - it can lead them to reducing the amount of money spent on fuel for irrigation pumps and therefore reduce their cost of production without adversely impacting productivity and yield. They create SMS text based weather alerts. System is quite cost-effective.
As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.â
Abraham Lincolnâs Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862
Three points - 1. The same old approaches are are not going to work going forward.
2. Different new approaches are going to be needed in different countries/cultures.
3. We should look for successes, support them, and try to propagate as appropriate.