Growing Rural Youth Agribusiness in Kenya: Stories And Best Practices Of The Vijabiz Project

Smith, Georgina; Koigi, Bob; Cartmell-Thorp, Susanna; Reeve, Sophie; Frost, Olivia; Mutimer, Alice

Growing Rural Youth Agribusiness in Kenya: Stories And Best Practices Of The Vijabiz Project

Autores

Smith, Georgina

Koigi, Bob

Cartmell-Thorp, Susanna

Reeve, Sophie

Frost, Olivia

Mutimer, Alice

Editor

Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation and Ustadi

Descripción

Youth constitute about 30% of the Kenyan population and 60% of the total labour force, with 1 million youth entering the labour market each year. The 2013 UNDP Kenya’s Youth Employment Challenge report revealed that 64% of unemployed Kenyans were youth, which is a critical concern for the country. As the backbone of Kenya’s economy, agriculture accounts for 65% of the nation’s annual exports and contributes 24% to gross domestic product. Youth agribusinesses are facing many challenges to grow; an issue the Vijabiz project set out to address. Vijabiz – the Youth Economic Empowerment through Agribusiness project – has been implemented by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) and USTADI, with main funding provided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).