Attracting the youth to agribusiness
This insight paper (PDF) provides examples of how 2SCALE tackled youth inclusion in its partnerships in Benin, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali and Nigeria. A youth-oriented approach involves asking practical questions to develop tailored services for youth in the agribusiness sector. 2SCALE has been experimenting with various options to support young producers and entrepreneurs. Making agriculture interesting to youth requires making it attractive and remunerative by having access to land, finance and technologies in order to modernize. Tailor-made loans for youth were developed, which do not require material collateral, but instead required the loan user to be part of a professional cooperative with good access to markets. Besides production another alternative for youth inclusion was explored: specialized service delivery to value chain actors. As service providers, young people can establish a clientele to which they can offer specialized services for a fee, such as spraying pesticide, tractor rental, transport services and quality control management. They are simple options, which do not require many resources, but require a certain level of education. Specific training to perform these activities can easily be provided and the necessary skills acquired. Opening up such positions to youth is a viable option for improving services in agricultural value chains, which is key to developing the agricultural sector. By harnessing the potential of youth, a positive impact on the productivity, efficiency and quality of value chain operations can be achieved.