MASAKA-At least 112, 900 youth from different rural communities in Uganda have acquired skills after being trained in agri-business, which organisers said should make the young people create their own jobs and be self-reliant.
The youth, both male and female, aged from 12 -35 years], from 500 parishes in 27 districts of Uganda underwent training in integrated sustainable agriculture and entrepreneurship.
The training of the youth is a partnership between district local governments and Gudie Leisure Farm [GLF], a social enterprise transforming young farmers into agri-entrepreneurs through planned, structured, and profitable value chains of smallholder youth farmers.
The training focuses on business-related subjects that guarantee the sustainable growth of the agro-business as the owners get managerial and other skills necessary to keep businesses growing.
Gudula Naiga Basaza, GLF Managing Director, said they have clustered the young people under the model ‘Parish Entrepreneurship Learning Associations [PELAs]’ and trained them in poultry, cattle, piggery, rabbits, aquaculture, and tree potting.
The youth were also trained in silage making, vegetable growing, and growing medicinal plants among others. Implementers of the programme are sure the training will make the young people self-reliant and improve their livelihoods.
”I want to see successful youths in rural communities living dignified lives earning at least US$1000 [Shs 3,8000] per month,” she said, adding that Uganda is the second country in Africa with a big population of youth who are unemployed.
Rashida Nakabinga, one of the beneficiaries at Makondo village in Ndagwe Subcounty, said she has gained skills in agri-business, and created her own enterprise that has enabled her to be self-reliant. Nakabinga and other members got an offer of land to use as a hub for learning best farming practices.
The programme coordinator in Lwengo district, George Mutabazi said they want to promote agro-tourism in the district by establishing beautiful gardens with modern farm methods and soil management for learning purposes.
He said they have established 11 learning centres at parishes where youths started educating people from different parts of the country on modern methods of farming, and the value-addition of agricultural products.
He said agro-tourism practices in the sub-counties of Malongo, Kyazanga, Lwengo rural have provided employment to the youth and opportunities to farmers to market their produce directly to big food and juice processing companies in the country.
https://thecooperator.news/katakwi-model-farmers-receive-in-calf-heifers/
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