ngongi the role of young people in africa’s agricultural revolution
TRANSCRIPT
Dr. Namanga Ngongi, President of AGRA
at the
Young People Farming and Food Conference
March 19-21, 2012
Accra, Ghana
The Role of Young People in Africa’s Agricultural Revolution
o “A food secure and prosperous Africa through rapid smallholder agricultural growth and transformation”;
o An agricultural renaissance, a vision of a food secure and economically prosperous Africa;
o Marshaling the capacities of a new generation of agricultural professionals and entrepreneurs across the food/ agricultural value chain;
o Acknowledging the potential of young men and women as active agents in the transformation of Africa’s agriculture.
AGRA’s vision- Forward looking …
• Low education and literacy levels;
• Access to assets and financial resources;
• Access to extension and vocational training;
• Access to agricultural/rural markets;
• Exclusion in policy discussions and instituted policies.
Young people in the agri-economy: Obstacles and constraints
Training of a new generation of agricultural professionals
Practical hands-on skills
University of Ghana (WACCI students)
Moi University student on farm trials
Kwame Nkrumah students planting
Haramaya student in the laboratory
Working with Farmers
Moi University (Kenya) students and professors working with farmers
on farmers fields
Innovative approach to training and extension programs
3000 Extension Workers
200 Laboratory Technicians
+300 MSc
132 PhDs
+300 Seed entrepreneurs
Rural Agro Entrepreneurship – huge potential for young people
New dynamism in the private sector:Africa’s small and medium seed companies
Agro-Dealers Trained in Business Management
2007 2008 2009 2010 20110
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
331
2,634
7,601
9,339
13,859N
o. o
f Agr
o-De
aler
s Tra
ined
(Baseline)
Other opportunities for young professionals• Training, Capacity building and financing
in• Post –harvest processing including value
addition• Market information• Service provision- tractor ploughing,
spraying etc
– Excess liquidity exists in financial markets• Need to reduce risk of lending to agriculture, especially for young people• Need loan guarantees to leverage commercial banks• AGRA is spearheading successful risk sharing arrangements • to leverage financing for smallholder farmers and young entrepreneurs in
Africa
– Kenya: $50 million from the Equity Bank
– $100 million from Standard Bank (Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ghana)
– Nigeria; $300 million for NISARL ($3 billion)
– Impact Investment funds– AGRA’s goal: leverage $
4 billion commercial financing for the agricultural sector
Innovative Financing Partnerships with Commercial Banks: $160 Million Leveraged into Agriculture
12
Kenya
Uganda
Tanzania
(Sta
nbic)
Moza
mbiq
ue
Ghana
Tanzania
(NM
B)0
5
10
15
20
25
30
AGRA Innovative Finance Loan volume (US$ m) (2011)
Cumulative volume of loans to farmers and SMEs under AGRA risk sharing facilities
39,238 SHFs
66,449 SHFs
72,053 SHFs
4,514 SHFs
24,848 SHFs 966 ADs