The Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) through the programme “Integrated Country Approach (ICA) for boosting decent jobs for youth in the agri-food system” launched a National Strategy for Youth Employment in Agriculture (NSYEA) in 2017. The purpose of the Strategy is to guide all state and non-state actors in Uganda to engage and create decent employment for youth in Agriculture. In line with the implementation of the NSYEA, a National Technical Coordination Platformwas established to support the implementation of the strategy.  

Within the frame of the National Strategy for Youth Employment in Agriculture (NSYEA)  implementation, in 2017, through the National Technical Coordination Platform, FAO in collaboration with the MAAIF and the Young Farmers Champions Network (YOFCHAN), launched the Youth Inspiring Youth in Agriculture Initiative (YIYA) – a nation-wide competition aimed at promoting youth employment in the agricultural sector by fostering role models of youth agripreneurs who are willing to work with and support other youth through knowledge-sharing, capacity building and mentorship of fellow youth. Through the YIYA initiative, 25 best youth agripreneurs were selected and awarded as Round One National Youth Champions (YC). The award package included cash support and opportunities to attend technical trainings, exhibitions of their agricultural products and policy dialogues related to youth employment in agriculture.

Based on the success of Round One of the YIYA initiative,the National Technical Coordination Platformexpressed interest to replicate and upscale it into a national youth agripreneurs mentorship programme, aimed at inspiring the youth to engage more efficiently in the agriculture sector countrywide.

The National Technical Coordination Platform therefore invites youth aged 18-35 years to take part in Round Two of the YIYA Initiative for 2020. All applications will be screened through a transparent process and the best 270 youth agripreneurs (2 per district) will be selected, announced and awarded as youth agriprenuers at district and regional levels.  The 270 youth agriprenuers will be subjected to further screening to select 135 district Youth Champions nationwide ensuring a gender balance of 68 female and 67 male youth. From the 135 district youth champions, 35 national youth champions will then be selected.

Benefits and award package.

• All the 270 district young agriprenuers will be documented, recognized as national young agriprenuers and provided opportunities to engage in peer-to-peer support activities with other youth.
• The final 35 national and 135 district champions will get an award package that will include: opportunity to attend a week technical training at the NFLC training center, as well as opportunity to participate in national exhibitions of agricultural products, and policy dialogues related to youth employment in agriculture.
• In addition to the training at the NFLC training center, the 35 national champions will also benefit from other national and international trainings and policy dialogues.

Eligibility criteria

• Applicants must be living and working in Uganda at the time of application
• They should be aged between 18 and 35 years
• They should demonstrate current involvement in an agribusiness (in production, aggregation, processing or any other node of the agriculture value chain such as distribution, or IT and financial service provision.
• Applicants may be individuals or members of youth associations/groups/cooperatives; they may be entrepreneurs or wage workers/contributing family workers.

Selection criteria

• Technical knowledge and skills
•  Potential of the agribusiness growth
• Socio-cultural and environmental consciousness
• Competency as a leader (as a Youth Champion)
• Innovation potential of the business, as well as current or expected impacts on employment generation, decent work aspects and food security
• A business model that promotes gender equality
• A record or interest in being a youth champion who are committed to engaging, mentoring and supporting other youth

Where to pick application forms

Application forms can be picked from either of the following:”

1. Office of the district production and market officer (DPMO’s) at any of your district headquarters and Uganda National Farmers Federation(UNFFE) upcountry offices
2. Young Farmers Champions Network (YOFCHAN) and Young Farmers Federation of Uganda (UNYFA) websites: YOFCHAN Website: http://www.yofchan.org/ UNYFA Website: https://unyfa.org/

Submission guidelines

1. All applicants should submit a fully filled application form (attached).
2. Submit a fully filled application form to the following
3. Office of the District Production Officer in your respective district, clearly indicating in a sealed envelope: MAAIF-FAO Youth Champions Initiative
4. Applications for Mid-west, Southwestern and Central Uganda districts can also be submitted either at the office of the District Production Officer in your respective district OR online via the YOFCHAN Email. Info@yofchan.org
5. Applications for Northern, and Eastern Uganda districts can also be submitted either at the office of the District Production Officer in your respective district OR online via the UNYFA Email. info@unyfa.com
6. Applications can also be delivered physically to YOFCHAN and UNYFA offices at the following addresses:

Deadline for submissions is 5^th November 2020. Any applications received after this deadline will not be considered.