Recognizing that employment opportunities in the agriculture and agro-processing sectors remain underexplored and under-utilised by both the youth and policy-actors alike, the house on Youth Employment Creation in Agriculture and Agro-processing was inaugurated in December 2017 to utilize research evidence and influence policy processes and outcomes on youth employment in the agricultural and agro-processing sectors.
This was after the realization that agriculture remains a key employer and could be significantly enhanced by strengthening linkages with industry through agro-processing and agro-innovation to make it more attractive to the youth and connect them to a wider range of economic opportunities.
Through interactive processes the House will actively engage, synthesize and make available the relevant evidence to the youth and other actors in selected agricultural value chains to inform policy and practice through engagement and communication for impact on job creation. The House activities are inspired by the successes registered during the two phases to design a well thought out activities on youth employment creation in Kenya and works closely with policy actors to bridge the gap between research evidence being produced in this area and public policy and practice. Youth employment creation house is being implemented in Kenya and majorly focussing in counties where mango and potatoes are largely grown such as Makueni, Nyandarua, and West Pokot.
The House represents a diverse set of stakeholders including representatives of national and county governments ministries, members of parliament and county assembly, legal experts, academics, public intellectuals, development partners and agencies.
The house is guided by the following objective;
To build evidence, facilitate policy dialogues and sustain a vibrant research, policy and practice community, for increased youth employment creation in agro-processing through the potato and mango value chains in Kenya.
Specific objectives include;
Policy Issue
Youth unemployment and underemployment is a pertinent challenge across Africa. The achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063 remains a mirage until sustainable livelihoods are secured. The house envisions that Agriculture in Africa has the potential to sustainably assimilate the continent’s bulging youth population through agro-processing and agro-innovations. The house’s approach is therefore centered on strengthening agricultural value chains through:
Anchor Study (Primary Evidence Sources)
The house is built on the foundation of the last two phases and relies heavily on the achievements and lessons from these phases. Phase I mainly focused on the sugar and horticultural industry where key policy issues on the two were identified. Phase II was a major milestone on youth employment creation in agriculture and agro-processing. It chartered an integrated (formal & informal) apprenticeship framework anchored in working with both the national and county governments. To achieve its objectives’, the house has designed well thought out activities that entails a mixture of research, policy actors’ engagement, debates and exchanges, structured dialogues and media outreach, to address difficult development and policy issues and improve the lives of urban residents of Kigali. The forums bring together various stakeholders on youth employment creation to co-create and co-produce throughout the research cycle include the uptake process.
Country of Focus
Kenya (both national and county government)
Cities of Focus/Counties
Nairobi, Nyandarua, Makueni, and West Pokot.
Host Organisation
The house is jointly co-hosted by two partners;
House Resources/Outputs
Policy Briefs
Utafiti Sera Policy Brief on An Apprenticeship Policy Framework on Youth Employment Creation in Agriculture and Agro-Processing in Kenya. – Published, May 2018
This policy brief highlights four key areas that a new apprenticeship framework should address if Kenya is to create and sustain youth employment in agriculture and agro-processing sectors as envisaged in the Youth Agribusiness Strategy and endorsed by the Internship Policy.
Reports
Utafiti Sera Forum On Youth Employment Creation in Agriculture and Agro-processing
Media Resources
Newspaper articles and blogs
– Digital solutions key to unlocking agriculture potential
– Huge potential in potato sector for youth job creation
– Apprenticeship key to creating jobs for youth
– How apprenticeship can attract young people to agriculture
– Apprenticeship will attract young people to agriculture
– Youth Employment Creation Through Sustainable Agribusiness – Lessons from evidence-informed policy convening
– Juicing for jobs: Improving mango processing for youth job creation
Convening/Activities:
Creation of evidence through research and policy analysis has been the major focus of the house activities. To achieve this, the house periodically organizes convening and forums where researchers and policy makers get to interact and engage in knowledge sharing on policy gaps, best practices and desired changes. Notable activities included;