The challenge sought to encourage young people to take a keen interest in the agricultural sector as a source of employment and enterprise. Young people traditionally view agriculture as an unattractive, back-breaking sector that requires much manual labour with minimal returns. The challenge aimed to change this mindset and encourage competitiveness, dynamism, creativity and innovation in starting up innovative agribusiness ideas that could contribute to business growth and attract business partnerships. Most importantly, it hoped to inspire potential ideas that could be replicated by other young people or to spur them to join as investors or as a means of employment. Since its inception six years ago, the challenge has been transformative and aspirational for many youths.
“Young people are at the centre of Swisscontact’s development interventions. We are focused on building and facilitating strong and sustainable partnerships between business companies and young entrepreneurs or smallholder farmers based on win-win economic benefits. Swisscontact played a major role in ensuring awareness of the challenge. We helped in publicity through sponsoring radio adverts on both rural- and urban-based stations, ensuring coverage in the local press, and supporting sensitisation meetings at the regional, district and sub-county levels,’’ remarked Mrs Tania Haidara, Country Director for Swisscontact in Uganda.
