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The African youth is anyone who is between childhood
and adulthood who is of African descent. Agriculture basically is the growing
of crops, rearing of animals for man’s use. Entrepreneurship identifies or
describes someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for its
failure or success.
The agriculture sector as stipulated by the World Bank
employs sixty-five percent of the continents labor force and the sector alone
account for thirty percent of the continents gross domestic product. One
striking revelation is that, the sector has been identified as an essential
component for the development of Sub-Saharan Africa, and her subsequent attainment
of the Millennium Development goals in the year 2015. If this revelation is
anything to go by, then it is no wrong to say that the needed measures must be
put in place to strengthen the sector in the sub-region.
But in doing so, mechanisms must be put in place to
ensure that obstacles that have in a way barricaded the efforts of successive
governments, stakeholders and individuals to enhance the growth of the sector
in the past be forestalled. Such mechanisms can be by way of charting a course
that would eventually lead to a re-orientation of the continents mindset
towards agricultural activities, instituting policies that sees to agricultural
development, investing heavily into research activities, budgetary allocations
that would see to training of experts and building strong institutions cum
mounting of agribusiness related courses in that would see to the development
of the needed experts.
Though the sector as said accounts for the greatest
percentage of employment in the continent, and has the potential to transform
the economy of the Sub-Saharan region,the youth which to a large extent forms a
greater portion of labor unfortunate has developed an apathetic mindset towards
the sector, hence the lack of interest in the sector’s activities. The youth in
this aspect of the globe so much of a sort takes much interest in landing
“highly esteemed” non existent white collar jobs. Ironically, a chunk of the
students studying various agricultural related courses in our universities in
long run earns diverting into other sectors. Why? The mindset from the
beginning have been that, the sector is a reserve for the poor in our the
community. So until the youth experience the needed paradigm shift in mind, the
sector though would account for such huge percentage in terms of employment in
the continent but would not see the needed development.
Stakeholders and individuals should partner government
to create a common platform for the development of agribusiness-entrepreneurs.
Such platforms should be made in a way that it would provide and make possible
the coming together of certain individuals who have made strides in the area of
agriculture, agribusiness, entrepreneurship with students in various
institutions that are majoring in courses related to the development of agriculture.
Such forums in the long run would provide the opportunity for people who of a
sort are liked minded confer by sharing experiences, training and the
establishments of a broad network for future engagements. This network should
allow for the establishment of agricultural based fraternities on campuses with
agricultural experts, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders entrusted with the
duty of supervising the progress of these students, and acting as mentors. The
eventuality of such an undertaking would be the direct partnership with these
students after completion of their courses.
There should also be room enough for farmer-student
engagement. Whatever be the case, the student youth who is taking study in any
agricultural related course, though might be exposed to changing trends in the
sector can never much the expertise of the farmer who has been in the
profession for some considerable number of years because the farmer for a fact
has been much exposed to the practical aspect of activities. This engagement
between the farmer and the student would afford the each the opportunity to
learn from each other. It would equally expose the student to the reality side
of the theories gone through within the confinement of their lecture halls,
either than it forever remaining mere methods.
African countries should by way of policies, develop
modules that would lead to the training of the uneducated aspect of the youth
population. This module should be open and very attractive. It should include
incentives like insurance, loans that are interest free for a stipulated
period, special award schemes and scholarship for the education the children of
such people among others. Such an initiative would not allure such persons into
the sector but would go a long way to tackle the canker of rural-urban
migration, unemployment, food insecurity among a host of other problems.
Financial institutions should institute loan schemes
with flexible paying schemes. Such schemes should create a situation whereby
the interest charged would come with an automatically created account that
would insure against contingency needs. These institutions together with
government and other stakeholders can equally run a major partnership that
would see to the creation of a “national farm” which would come with various
compartments like buffer stock industries, composite plants, poultry, a
research department, among others. The various compartments as mentioned should
be opened up to employment for only natives of the African region. A major contribution
that can come with such an initiative is the production of fertilizers and
other agro based chemicals internally, a phenomenon which would allow us to
turn our waste components to our benefits and help fight the dirts that have
engulfed us.
The entrepreneurial aspect would come into play when
the youth is allowed to on their own with little or no supervision identified
special investment ventures, draw comprehensive business proposals and
effectually tender such proposals for the needed support. Local industries
should as part of their corporate social responsibilities create a platform
where they would periodically invite such proposals, screen them and identify
the most innovative and comprehensive ones to give the needed financial
backing.
The continent should equally encourage a continental
blueprint that would create an inter-country youth entrepreneurial platform
where, youth leaders, entrepreneurs and national leaders would periodically
meet to dialogue and exchange ideas on issues that are peculiar to each
nation’s youth development.
The African Youth just like their counterparts across
the globe are faced with major challenges that do not argue well for their
development but with the appropriate measures like those elaborated on above
put into its proper perspective, we would not only be solving the core problems
bordering the youth, but it would be a course to ensure the total independence
of the continent in the next foreseeable future.
By Akaho Felix Junior (Ghana)
iHav 2013 conference participant
