Emma Wamuyu, 32, has been a subsistence farmer for years to feed and support her three children.
But without any other source of income, Wamuyu, who hails from Karatina in Nyeri county, has had to depend on her parents who offered her half-acre of land.
Wamuyu would barely produce enough to feed her children and would struggle to educate them as she had no money to buy fertiliser or manure.
But all this changed when she came across One Acre Fund, a social enterprise that provides smallholder farmers with financing and training.
Wamuyu was trained and supported with inputs that enabled her to engage in commercial beans and maize farming, producing enough to feed her family and for sale.
“I was trained to dig trenches in my small farm to stem soil erosion and the best farming practices that maximise my harvests,” she said.
She has since leased another halfacre to expand her farming.
Despite agriculture accounting for 51 per cent of the country’s GDP, over 78 per cent is practised by small farmers, most of them aged over 45.
With this realisation, One Acre Fund launched a four-year initiative to redefine agriculture as a viable livelihood option for the youth.
Yael Hartmann, the organisation's director of government relations and policy, said the Tupande Youth Engagement targets 300,000 young people across 34 counties who will be empowered to tap into agriculture to earn a living.
The objective of the programme that will be implemented in partnership with MasterCard Foundation is to package agriculture as a career of choice for youths.
“We have to address the pressing challenge that most farmers are over 45 years old. This is the moment to re-imagine agriculture as a rewarding and dynamic venture for youths,” Hartmann said.
“It will focus on boosting productivity, access to markets and creating access to affordable financing. This approach will pave the way to self-sufficiency and long-term success.”
The programme will leverage technology to provide critical support for youthful farmers to plant high value crops and help them access markets while merging capacity building with assets-based financing.
Field days will be organised across all the counties where the participating youths will learn, network and be provided with starter kits that will include irrigation kits, livestock, tree seedlings and vegetable seeds.
Speaking during the launch of the programme in Nyeri town, Hartmann said the organisation has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Council of Governors to support efforts to boost agricultural productivity.
“This is an invitation to youths to step forward and take ownership of the country’s food future,” she said.
By providing quality inputs that enable farmers to plant high value crops and connecting them to markets, Hartmann said the organisation has helped many small holder farmers achieve food security.
Last year, One Acre Fund reached over 978,000 farmers in 34 counties.
“Agricultural growth can reduce
rural poverty rates faster and more
effectively. Agricultural productivity
is significantly improved by providing access to high quality inputs at
the start of each season and competitive markets for harvests,” she said.
