More youth involvement in agriculture likely to boost rural economy

Apart from low investment that leaves the sector mostly rain-fed smallholder, another challenge in Tanzania is low youth participation in agriculture. Even in rural areas, various studies put youth involvement at about just 60 percent.

That is why efforts that seek to bring more youth into agriculture such as the flagship Building a Better Tomorrow: Youth Initiative for Agribusiness (BBT – YIA) 2022-2030 with estimated budget is 356,199bn/- come as good news not only to youth involved but also their communities and rural economies in general.

This is because agro-processing are expected to add value to produce, create jobs and increase not only purchasing power or beneficiaries but more money in circulation in project areas.

 Brainchild of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, BBTYIA has prioritized value chains with fast turnover and other attributes that are youth friendly. The programme started by training 200,000 youth, involving 20,000 youth in internship programs, and mentoring as well as coaching 15,000 youth-led agribusinesses through incubation programs with the problem of land acquisition solved.

The initiative is in line with Tanzania’s agriculture agenda of 10/30 implemented through collaborative efforts between the government through the Ministry of Agriculture, private sector and development partners led by USAID-Sera Bora Project.

Through this initiative, the government gives each beneficiary access to land ownership of 10 acres as capital to ensure their economic empowerment.

The first batch of youth who were enrolled in the middle of February this year underwent a three-month training programme after which they were allocated land for cultivation and value adition purposes.

The training involved attitude changing communication strategy, project monitoring and evaluation, sustainable management of agribusiness, growing business as well as coordination of youth agribusiness support initiatives for synergy and efficiency.

Jane Masigala is visually impaired young woman who was selected to join BBT-YIA. She said in an interview recently that she had no hope of being selected to join the project although she had a passion of practising agribusiness one day.

“I am grateful and I will always be thankful to our government. I never imagined that in my condition I would get this opportunity to practise agribusiness. I believe this training will not only support me in future but also my family and community,” she said.

Masigala is one of the trainees at Bihawana in Dodoma BBT-YIA training center. She hopes to become a billionaire through agriculture value addition so that she can support others through agribusiness.

“I hope and believe that through agribusiness, I will one day become a billionaire and support my fellow young women in Tanzania. This is the biggest dream I have,” she added.

Aziza Abdallah is another young woman who was selected to join BBT-YIA in Dodoma and has big dreams of changing her life for the better as well as her family, community and country.

“Coordinators and trainers are really supportive. I hope to utilize this training opportunity to not only become a successful famer but also a food processor who exports,” she said.

She added that the training center is well equipped with all the necessary equipment for agribusiness plus a hostel, nice meals and good timetable that allows intensive learning as well as resting.

We are safe here, we have everything we need. I feel at home because I get all my necessities I require while attending agribusiness trainings. I advise my colleagues to work hard after the training so that the resources invested are not wasted,” she added.

“I applauded President Samia for championing this initiative which I believe will lift many out of poverty and take our country’s agriculture sector to another level.”

When presenting the 2023/2024 budget in Parliament last month, Minister for Agriculture Hussein Bashe said that the government is set to build sustainable agriculture sector which provides opportunities for youth and women to participate in agribusiness.

Bashe said that one of the main targets of the budget is to create decent jobs especially in agriculture by making availability of land for block farms and agriculture parks along with BBT-YIA whereby it is estimated that the project will create 300,000 jobs by 2030.

 “One of the major challenges of youth participating in agribusiness is the negative perceptions and attitude towards agriculture coupled with limited awareness on agribusiness opportunities,” he said.

Because of initiatives such as BBT-YIA and others geared towards food security, Tanzania has been selected to host Africa Food Systems 2023 Summit from September 5 to 8 in Dar es Salaam, hosted by President Samia.

The 2023 Summit theme is Recover, Regenerate, Act: Africa’s Solutions to Food Systems Transformation. The theme is anchored around building back better food systems with youth and women at the center.