The Youth Economic Empowerment through Agribusiness in Kenya (Vijabiz)

VijaBiz aim is to boost business and employment opportunities for youth in the Agricultural sector in Kenya’s Kilifi and Nakuru Counties. Through promoting innovative, attractive and sustainable employment for youth by providing training, coaching and mentorship in the entrepreneurship and business skills needed to develop and run successful agricultural enterprises for 150 youth groups, comprising more than 1,000 agribusinesses and 2,250 youth. 

Overall Goal

“Create sustainable employment for the rural youth in the counties selected through active engagement in agribusiness for wealth creation and poverty reduction”

Overall Objectives

• Developed  and enhanced youth skills and entrepreneurial capacity in the Fisheries, Cereals and Dairy value chains.
• Strengthened youth involvement in agribusiness
• Unlocked  youth potential to contribute to the agricultural sector goals of achieving food and nutrition security, income generation, employment and wealth creation, whilst improving rural livelihoods.

In the strategic plan (2016-2020), CTA has set three interrelated goals to contribute to rural development and greater food and nutrition security: development of profitable smallholder value chains; support the development and implementation of conducive agricultural policies and regulatory frameworks; enhance the capacity of stakeholders in information and knowledge management, which in turn supports both value-chain development and policy processes.

Youth in agriculture is a priority that cuts across CTA’s work, along with agribusiness development, climate-smart agriculture, nutrition and women. The ICTs and knowledge management are used to strengthen these linkages and further spur their value delivery.

By developing and adopting its Youth in Agriculture Strategy in 2013 CTA aims to boost the engagement of young people in agriculture and rural development for the growth of ACP agricultural economies and to improve youth employment rates and livelihoods.

Achievements

• Promoting coherent evidence-based policies on youth in agriculture and rural development
• Enhancing the engagement of youth in agricultural value chains
• Enhancing youth engagement in agriculture through ICT innovation and utilization and knowledge management and
• Strengthening the engagement of young professionals in agricultural science and tertiary education.