The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, has said that agribusiness can curb unemployment among youth and to attract more young people to the sector, the ‘Farming is Cool Rwanda’ project was launched last week that is set to empower Rwanda’s youth through a agribusiness.
Farming is Cool Rwanda is aimed at changing the mindset of youth regarding agribusiness and making available modern technologies, knowledge, financing and markets to them.
“Farming is for everyone, graduates or non-graduates, and when they embrace initiative, they will get good seeds, modern technology, financing which will solve the challenges of dependence and unemployment,” Nsengimana said.
He explained that there are 4.4 million in the country, 80% of them in rural areas, and 65% underemployed.
“Underemployed youth are either involved in underproductive activities that have very little outcome or they work less than 25 hours per week,” Nsengimana explained. “When the Farming is Cool initiative scales up, it has the potential to solve unemployment and underemployment among youth, which will help achieve double-digit economic growth as envisaged by the government.”