Over 500 youth attend Agriculture Indaba
MANZINI – Yesterday, the Youth in Agriculture Indaba started on a high note as over 500 youth agripreneurs from all the four regions were in attendance.
The Agriculture Indaba, which started yesterday at Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre is themed ‘Empowering the next generation of agri-champions through innovation and technology systems’.
The event aims to motivate and inspire young people to contribute in achieving food security for Eswatini.
Minister of Agriculture Jabulani Mabuza said the theme of the event was perceived to be the ‘game changer’ towards increasing youth participation in commercial agriculture value chains.
Mabuza recalled that government had long identified the need to harness the youth for accelerating inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the country.
“Our current statistics indicate that 72.9 per cent of the population are in the youthful years, that is 35 years and younger.
“However, out of these, only 42 per cent of those in the working age are in gainful employment due to limited job opportunities,” said Mabuza.
True
He stated that this situation was true for both graduates from tertiary institutions and those who did not have tertiary qualifications.
He said it was in this regard that government had prioritised providing an enabling environment for youth participation in the economic development of the country.
Mabuza added that it was their belief that the agriculture sector under the policy leadership of the ministry was putting in place all the pre-requisite tools to catalyse enterprise agriculture as envisaged in the five year National Development
Plan for 2023-2028.
He said such initiatives were already incorporated in the Second Generation Draft National Agriculture Investment Plan.
He said in this vein, they trusted that the outcomes of this summit would further detail interventions and approaches to attract more youth participation in the agriculture and food industries.
Encouraged
Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku, who was representing the Prime Minister (PM), Cleopas Sipho Dlamini, encouraged the youth to zoom into the issues of import substitutions as the country was currently importing a lot of food that may be produced locally.
In his remarks, the PM as represented by the DPM, said the indaba sought to re-focus the future course of action for the country towards economic growth and development.
He said that this youth in agriculture summit/indaba was a very important event that clearly demonstrated the commitment of government in improving the lives of citizens, particularly the youth, who were the generation that was expected to carry the legacy as the elderly energy levels deteriorated as a result of ageing.
He said his excitement about this event hinged upon two facts that always came to the fore in discussions on the country’s development agenda.
He said the agriculture sector was the backbone of the country’s economy, as it provided livelihood for more than 70 per cent of citizens.
He said this came in the form of both on-farm and off-farm employment as well as in secondary sectors like manufacturing, where it supplied raw materials.
He mentioned that agriculture also provided food that nourished bodies so that one may grow strong and be economically active.
Dlamini said the country’s demographic statistics indicated that the youth were the majority group in the country and were the most affected by unemployment and limited economic opportunities.
“These two facts clearly demonstrate the need for youth engagement and the importance of information dissemination and networking that will result in targeted interventions that seek to address the real challenges faced by the youth of this country,” he said.
The PM noted that the Kingdom of Eswatini subscribed to the united nations’ sustainable development goals and the food systems approach as a vehicle to achieve some of the goals, particularly those that related to agriculture, food and nutrition security, environmental management, as well as sustainable use of natural resources.
“We are drawing many lessons from principles that are pillars for the achievement of these goals, one of which is inclusiveness, hence our deliberate efforts towards encouraging and facilitating youth participation in all the sectors of the economy,” Dlamini said.
Foundation
He also highlighted that the ministry of agriculture had already laid down the foundations in re-organising the sector through the adoption of the value chain approach for all commodities and the establishment of commodity-based associations.
He said this would enable the youth to identify opportunities in the various sectors of the value chain.
Dlamini stated that it had been noted that, investment in agriculture was risky and it required substantial amounts of resources. He noted that government had established facilities such as the Agricultural Development Fund and guarantee schemes that were meant to minimise the burden on citizens of the country, who intend to venture into agribusiness.
Dlamini said the threat posed by climate change to agriculture was a global problem that required innovative ways for adaptation and mitigation. He said it was a common belief that the youth was innovative and more technology-inclined than the older generations. “We count on you to use those skills and attributes to come up with innovative ways and home-grown solutions to this problem,” the PM said.