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Theme: Youth & Women as Catalyst for Agribusiness Development & Growth
Background
West and Central Africa continue to face major challenges of youth unemployment and under-employment that is set to worsen if determined and innovative measures are not deployed to curb it. Despite the fact that the crisis of ‘youth unemployment has been a persistent concern of politicians and policymakers, youth development - particularly among the rural poor - has remained at the margins of national development strategies in most countries. Rural – urban migration continues to further deplete a rapidly aging farming population as well as adding to increased delinquencies often associated with lack of opportunities for the young. There has been more rhetoric and cosmetic interventions than actual investment to solving the worsening problem. Procrastination will only worsen an already dicey situation and the time has never been more urgent to invest in young people in the sub region. Like in other regions of the world, notably South East Asia that productively utilised its youth bulge, the solution is in sound policies and institutions. With good policies set and consistently followed through, the potential to reap a dividend from a larger, younger work force is great.
Agribusiness offers realistic opportunities for job and wealth creation for young people. Nonetheless, a very significant proportion of young people are not currently attracted to the agricultural sector as they view it as drudgery, largely subsistent and characterized by inefficiency and very little profitability. Even rural youth that engage in agribusiness, do so largely on a subsistence scale. Whilst subsistence farms provide a source of food and a relatively small income for rural youth, they generally fail to produce enough to make re-investment possible. In addition, subsistence agricultural is currently plagued by high post harvest losses of products arising from lack of appropriate technologies (for processing, packaging, storage, marketing), and lack of proper handling of agricultural products especially perishable ones. Turning this trend around and getting young people to become catalysts for agribusiness development and growth is a challenge that must be overcome.
Young people can also act as catalysts of rural development and provide innovative ideas when crafting development policies. In order to realise their potential to contribute to economic growth and productivity improvement, rural youths need to be sufficiently incentivised to stay or return to their communities, with concrete opportunities to improve their livelihoods. There is a need to invest in pro-agricultural rural youth programmes that elevate economic and employment opportunities.
A vibrant rural sector generates local demand for locally produced products and services. In turn, this can spur sustainable off-farm employment growth in services, agro-processing and small-scale manufacturing. This is crucial for rural employment. Recognizing smallholder farms as agribusinesses, irrespective of their size or scale, is an important first step in making the sub region’s rural sector a viable choice for young people. The challenge is to create a vibrant rural economy by making agriculture more productive, efficient, remunerative and competitive with the view to creating employment for young people.
It is in this backdrop, the project – Youth & Women as Catalyst for Agribusiness Development & Growth in West &Central Africa was conceived. The project combines research on successful agribusiness enterprises such as the Songhai model with stakeholder consultations – ultimately aimed at developing policy guidelines for formulating agribusiness programmes as well as national policies that are focused on improving employment opportunities for young people in the agricultural sector. This youth workshop fair is a key aspect of the stakeholder consultation process.
The Youth Workshop-Fair
The theme of the youth workshop fair is: “Youth and Women as Catalysts for Agribusiness Development and Growth”. The workshop-fair brings together young rural entrepreneurs, donor funded agribusiness projects, Songhai Centre graduates, government representatives, agribusiness companies, women entrepreneurs and organisations, farmer organisations, business associations, civil society as well as representatives from national, regional and international development agencies to share their experiences on the promotion of agribusiness development and rural entrepreneurial innovations in the sub region. In addition to findings of an ongoing research to identify success factors of agribusiness models with potentials of sustainable job creation for young people, these shared experiences and other relevant inputs from participants will inform the draft policy guidelines that the project will ultimately deliver. Participants will be from 5 countries in West and Central Africa – Benin, Cameroun, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Objectives of the Youth Workshop Fair
The overarching objective of the youth workshop fair is to articulate a strategy/roadmap for attracting and engaging young women and men in agribusiness. This consultative forum is a salient component towards the development of an evidence based set of policy guidelines to be used by policymakers and development partners in formulating programmes that promote rural youth entrepreneurs and agribusiness development. The goal is to create decent employment opportunities for young men and women by making agriculture more productive, efficient, remunerative and competitive.
The specific objectives of the workshop fair are to:
- share experiences and ideas on strategies, methods and implementation of agribusiness employment creation programmes for young women and men
- identify key factors and successful business models that can attract young people to become engaged in agribusiness;
- collaborate to produce a plan of action and support for a strategic approach to making agriculture an attractive enough option for youth to engage in.
- initiate information exchange and networking for young agri-entrepreneurs.:
- Launch platform for sharing of experiences and opportunities in the areas of agribusiness as well as knowledge on existing and emerging technologies for wealth and employment creation
- Facilitate entrepreneurs to form communities of practice to enable them benefit from exposure to practical approaches and innovations in agribusiness value chains
- sensitize participants and the wider public on project goal and promote the visibility of the youth as catalyst for agribusiness development concept in the sub region
Approach to Youth Workshop - Beyond rhetoric to action (business unusual)
The workshop fair will have Interactive panel discussions including presentations on youth/women-friendly agribusiness models/projects, youth employment policies in the region and financing/fund mobilisation options. The workshop fair will culminate in reaching a consensus on next steps and a clear plan of action. The youth workshop fair will take place on Monday 8th and Tuesday 9th October 2012 at the Songhai Centre, Porto Novo Republic of Benin. As a build up to the workshop, there will be a Trade Fair and organised tours for of the Songhai Centre’s integrated agribusiness model from the 6th – 7th October 2012.. The Trade Fair will feature young entrepreneurs displaying products and processing machineries in a social setting from the 6th – 7th August. Participants will start arriving from 6th Saturday to leave on the 10th. The event will be held in English and French
Agenda/Programme
[Being developed]
WELFARE INFORMATION
Accommodation and catering
Participants will stay at Songhai’s various accommodation options. The centre’s restaurants have varied menus and meals will provided by organisers. Songhai will give special rates for hosting – including accommodation, airport/border shuttle & catering.
Arrival at the Airport, Boarder
Transportation will be provided for all participants from the various points of arrival, Lagos International Airport, Seme boarder and Cotonou International Airport.
Foreign Exchange and Currency
The exchange rate is approximately:
1Naira=FCFA 3; 1US Dollar = FCFA 500; 1Euro = FCFA 650
Weather
The weather in Benin Republic during the month of October will be cool but humid. Light but warm clothing would be appropriate. The conference venue is an outside open hall.
Contact Information of Secretariat in Benin
Songhai Centre, Porto Novo , Benin Republic
Patricia Kormawa: +229 67 70 94 60 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Blandine Araba: +229 97 29 89 55 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Leonce Sessou: +229 96 14 72 30 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Akole Wilson: +229 96 00 82 39 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contact Information of Secretariat in Nigeria
UNIDO, Bank of Industry Building, Central Business District, Abuja, Nigeria
Maada Sesi: +234 706 888 6330 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ify Okonkwo: +234 810 465 6429
Electricity: The Republic of Benin operates 220 Volts. Please remember to bring adaptors/extensions for your electrical appliances.
Kindly apply by filling in the questionnaires below: