To farm, or Not to farm?
Changing the Youth’s Mind-set is the Answer
Mon,
04/24/2017
Let me answer it this way: If you are a youth, you
are damned if you farm, and you will be equally damned if you don’t. Farming as
an option is very key to enabling the continuous production of food to meet our
consumption demand. We are in an era where we have to attract the young people
to join food production, since majority of them think it is dirty work.
Interacting with young farmers has only left me understanding that, besides the
lack of mechanisation, we lack the best farming practices that would otherwise
increase our earnings.
Attracting and keeping young people happy in food
production means supplying more modern and affordable farming tools and
equipment to help them do the job well and more efficiently. A lot of young
people see agriculture as tiresome and getting their hands ‘dirty’. There is a
high level of stigmatisation from peers, and from the community who perceive
those engaged in agriculture as failures. Graduates, or anyone who has attained
a decent level of education is expected to get a white collar job or something
cooler than a job in agriculture. With mechanisation, more youth will be
attracted into the sector as it will ease their work and also give them time to
engage in any other activities that could generate them extra income.
But regardless of one’s professional background,
any youth can still engage in agribusiness. All they need is letting them
understand the different ways they can contribute to production in their
various professional backgrounds. For instance, a lawyer can play a part in
agribusiness through helping farmers to register their businesses and
negotiating high value contracts with suppliers, and manufacturers. An engineer
and architect can help farmers to build modern and efficient irrigation systems
to boost production. An insurer can provide insurance to farmers to help offset
the adverse effects of climate change. A diplomat can help farmers undertake
study tours to other countries. Researchers can help improve seed varieties.
Politicians can formulate policies to improve agribusiness. The opportunities
are endless. In other words, you don’t really have to soil your hands to engage
in the agriculture value chain. This also applies to youth living in urban
areas. Urban farming is not well-understood but it can be a great source of
income and does not need large pieces of land. More effort is needed to promote
it amongst the youth.
Governments can play a role by providing young
people with a favourable investment environment and developing policies that
favour their participation in agriculture. At present, young people face a lot
of bureaucracy to access government financing to engage in agribusiness. Funds
meant to boost agribusiness among young people barely reach them. Often you
read of these funds being misused or embezzled by government officials.
Training young farmers on best farming practices,
post-harvest handling, and packaging is also important in this quest. This is
an area in which my friends and I are making a small but important
contribution. Our network, the Farmers Guide Uganda, organises talks, training
and study tours for both aspiring and seasoned farmers on topical issues,
including ways to address some of their biggest challenges. If youth can see
that farming is not only profitable, but can be done at different levels of the
value chain, and without much hassle, we are likely to have more of them
engaging in the sector in the years to come.
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