State bets on agribusiness to create more jobs for the youth

Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports Cabinet Salim Mvurya has said that agriculture remains the most promising frontier for mass employment, engaging over 60 per cent of the workforce.

He said that through programmes like the Agribusiness Hub, agriculture can be modern, digital, and profitable, attracting innovators and entrepreneurs who see farming not as subsistence but as smart business.

Speaking during the IFAD Policy and Partnership Forum on Scaling Youth Employment through Systems Change in Naivasha, Mvurya emphasised that inclusive agribusiness models can restore dignity and hope for a generation ready to build Africa’s rural economies.

„The Agribusiness Hub Programme has shown that when we invest in ecosystems that connect youth to skills, finance, mentorship, and markets, the results are transformative,” he said.

The CS noted that nearly 75 per cent of Kenya‘s population is below 35 years old, and close to one million young people join the labour market every year. He noted that the Kenya Kwanza government has placed youth empowerment and job creation at the centre of the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).  

He revealed that in just five years, the Agribusiness Hub Programme has created employment for more than 43,000 rural youth, over half of whom are young women. “Beyond the numbers, it has demonstrated that inclusive agribusiness models can restore dignity and hope for a generation ready to build Africa’s rural economies,” he said.

IFAD Country Director Kenya Mariatu Kamara regretted that young people face limitations in accessing land, which locks them out of the agriculture space.

Kamara noted that the agri-food system is very enticing to young agriprenuers; however, access to credit hinders them from exploiting the sector. „We must make agriculture something that youth want to work in,“ she said.

Mvurya said the government is implementing the  National Youth Opportunities Towards Advancement (NYOTA) Programme, a Sh20 billion flagship national initiative designed to link 820,000 youths to training, mentorship, and investment support for those entering the creative industries, sports, and agribusiness. “Through NYOTA, we are fostering partnerships between public institutions, private investors, and community organisations to ensure that every youth, whether in art, innovation, or agriculture, can access dignified and sustainable work,” he said. 

The CS further said that the Ajira Digital and Jitume initiatives are bridging the digital divide and linking youth to global digital work, while the Youth Enterprise Development Fund is offering affordable financing for youth-led start-ups across all 47 counties. 

He noted that the Rural Credit Guarantee Scheme, implemented with IFAD and the State Department for Agriculture, has been unlocking access to credit for youth and smallholders to scale agribusiness ventures.

“Together, these initiatives reflect a clear government commitment to build an integrated ecosystem for youth employment, from policy design to implementation and financing,” he said.

The CS urged development partners, IFAD, International Labour Organisation, VISA Foundation, the World Bank, UN agencies, and regional institutions, to deepen collaboration with the Kenyan government.

The CS noted that already, about 30 per cent of new jobs annually are emerging from agriculture and agribusiness, driven by youth entrepreneurs using digital tools, green practices, and inclusive value chain innovations.

“The youth of Africa are not waiting for opportunity. They are creating it. What they need is an ecosystem that believes in them. This momentum must now be sustained through coordinated action, financing, and policy coherence,” he said.

Director of IFAD‘s Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion Juan Carlos explained that the Integrated Agribusiness Hub Programme has emerged as a pioneering model for addressing rural youth unemployment and underemployment in Africa through agribusiness and its adjacent sectors.

He said the programme implemented across nine countries has surpassed its original targets, empowering nearly 60,000 rural youth to access decent employment opportunities, far exceeding the initial goal of 22,000.

IFAD Programme Manager Brian Chipili revealed that Kenya has performed well, creating 5,000 jobs through the Job Open to the Youth project. “These hubs conduct value chain analyses, labour market studies, and short, practical training sessions aligned to local employment needs,” he said.