Youth agribusiness entrepreneurs in Kenya have been consistently encountering challenges of low productivity and limited market access. This is despite investments to increase youth participation in agribusiness, as highlighted by World Bank Youth Agribusiness Report. Even though agribusiness is viewed as a sector with high potential to reduce the rate of unemployment among young people, the rate of unemployment among youth is increasing ranging between 22% to 40% in Kenya (British Council Kenya).
Leadership constraint is overlooked in agribusiness
Leadership in agribusiness is a critical skill that determines the extent to which youth agribusiness entrepreneurs maximise the productivity of their enterprises. The technical aspect of what to grow, how to grow it and how to access inputs and markets are also critical in agribusiness. However, the success of an enterprise is determined by leadership capabilities.
In order for agribusiness ventures to be profitable, the agribusiness entrepreneurs are required to make decisions in uncertain situations, understand markets, pricing and value chains, develop systems, partnerships and scalable business models and comply to required quality standards. The lack of these skills and knowledge has resulted in youth agribusiness enterprises with low-value production, trapped in informal approaches which limit their ability to scale the enterprises and compete for existing opportunities. More than 80% of youth undertaking agribusiness operate in informal systems, which limit their ability to scale and access finance and markets (KIPPRA).
Intentional investment in youth in agribusiness
The intentional development efforts to increase productivity in agribusiness has resulted in enhanced youth access to finance, capacity building, and inputs. That being the case, has not translated in success of most enterprises in agribusiness.
Opportunities remain underutilized without leadership. It is the leadership ability that transitions access in to competitive advantage, production into profitable enterprise, and participation in to market leadership. Leadership ability can translate even agribusiness enterprises constrained environments to profitable and scalable ventures.
Positioning youth as agribusiness leaders
The narrative of youth being viewed as labour providers and running agribusiness enterprises as the last solution of unemployment has limited both ambition and outcomes. Evidence shows that youth contribute about 25% of GDP in Kenya within the overall food economy(KIPPRA). This clearly shows that youth are participating in agribusiness, but their progress is constrained.
Training youth to farm to develop youth to lead enterprises.
Supporting production to develop the commercial capability of the youth.
Short-term interventions to long-term leadership development.
This realignment is fundamental in enhancing youth agribusiness enterprises to be profitable and scalable.
Investment to transform agribusiness
Technical solutions are critical but agribusiness transformation in Kenya and across East Africa needs intentional investment in leadership. What this looks like for donors, partners and ecosystem actors is investing in agribusiness programmes that are centred in leadership, long-term outputs and strengthening agribusiness ecosystems that underpin the scaling of youth-led enterprises.
Kameru Leadership Foundation (KLF) believes developing a new generation of ethical, strategic and innovative agribusiness leaders is key in harnessing agribusiness and food systems transformation. The gap is not in youth participation in agribusiness, it is in their equipment to lead.