CS nominee for Agriculture Mutahi Kagwe has noted the importance of profit-making in agriculture, which would draw youth to the sector.
“No youth is going to go into agriculture just because we urge them to. They will only go into agriculture if they see it as a way to make money,” he said.
Kagwe explained that to make that money, all stakeholders will have to take the necessary steps to make agriculture responsive to profit-making.
He also noted that most young people do not have land for agricultural purposes, adding that the government should lease the available lands.
He stated that the government should further make sure that the land is yieldable, by ensuring proper soil analysis and use of correct seeds.
Kagwe concluded that to achieve the above, the sector will introduce technology, which will also serve to attract the young population.
He said they will also have to specify which part of agriculture the young people will be interested in.
He listed tourism agriculture and agri-finance.
“These are the things that the youth are going to be interested in. So in a nutshell, agriculture has to be looked at from a profit and loss, in order for us to make it worthwhile and revive it,” he said.
He noted that agriculture is too boring for the youth, adding that they will launch trainings for the same.
“Agriculture for the youth must be made cool. It’s too ordinary and boring. Youth are not going to go there with the way it’s structured today,” he said.
Kagwe said it has got to be something more exciting, which involves technology and new ways of doing things.
“Artificial intelligence is going to play a crucial role in the future of agriculture. Are we educating our future farmers to deal with AI? Are we preparing ours to compete with the best in the world?” Kagwe asked.
