The training for this category of youth beneficiaries will be delivered working with experienced locally identified partners/resource persons and is scheduled to last for between 1 – 2 days with the aim of improving their production output through the introduction to improved technologies (Good Agronomic Practices – GAP) and/or standardize processing/value addition skills to enable them compete favorably within their communities. This training will be both theoretical and practical and will be delivered in either English or Local Languages with a pre and post evaluation of their level of knowledge as well as the training assessment.
These departing trainees will be grouped and registered in a cooperative (if not already in one) to better place them in a position to access finance and operate as self-employed commercial farmers but with skill sets required to make them compete within the larger rural farming community. One advantage to these beneficiaries is that the cost of their start-up is small when compared to those starting other more complex agribusinesses and another is that, by putting their acquired skill to good use they will be encouraged to set up demonstrations to showcase their new skills and serve as models to other youth at localized scales in the hope that they adopt same technologies and create impact at the individual, family and community levels.
These young farmers can establish/improve on an end-to-end approach within themselves at the community level even as they are supported with possible link to finance and networked to better market their produce and export it to others {within or outside the state/country) seeking to add value to it.
Finally, through the establishment of a Help-Desk, this category of youths can be better supported as they can reach out to mentors/experts when they face challenges or require additional information. This will also help to ensure better documentation, follow-up and tracking of their progress and ways to better improve support.