RYAF MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2019

DECEMBER 2019
I BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction on the chain of achievements from the year 2019

Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) commenced operation in 2016

with major objectives including the change of youth mindset and to open
their eyes to opportunities in agribusiness for job creation and economic
development.

Since its creation, RYAF has been serving the youth in Rwanda through
empowerment and advocacy to embrace opportunities in agribusiness. As a
voice for the youth farmers and entrepreneurs in agriculture, RYAF
celebrates a chain of achievements in the year 2019.

1.2 Narrowing the Gap of Unemployment

Through different partnerships, RYAF provided more than 592 part time
employments to the youth in various value chain domains (coffee, dairy,
cassava, potato, beans, maize and horticulture). This impacted about
500,000 farmers in these value chains. RYAF has created a RYAF shop to be
able to reduce costs of transaction and easily carry out advocacy in terms of
taxes and access to finance options. RYAF has worked with Rwanda
Development Board (RDB) to manage internship program where out of 851
interns, 633 were deployed across the country as agronomists to work with
different cooperatives from the two previous years. This internship is a very
good channel where young graduates are getting connected to jobs and
they are starting their own agribusiness ventures. RYAF has established the
district coordination program where all youth in agricultural domains are
being represented from sector to district levels. RYAF has established RYAF
Fund to leverage on the existing opportunities in access to finance and
create a fund by youth themselves where every member pays Rwf 12,000
per annum. This fund is being linked to banks to create these important
linkages.

1.3 Capacity building

RYAF officially established Agribusiness Incubation Program where with

important partners, young people are now accessing facilities for technical
and managerial skills development and market tests. The program was
started with aim to reach many centers (Universities, Higher Learning
Institutions, TVET Schools and Youth Centers) to create important mass
agents of change in agribusiness from the youth benefiting from different
services and optimize opportunities found in agribusiness value chains.

1.4 Creation of partnerships that benefit the youth

RYAF has established long term partnerships with the local government,
especially districts to facilitate the access and accountability on public
resources (land, forests, buildings, other types of assets and facilities),
finances, knowledge and other important linkages to stakeholders and
partners.

RYAF has been able to sign important Memorandum of Understanding

(MoU)s with Rwanda Agricultural and Animal Resources Development
Board (RAB) where youth in horticulture are now able to get fruit trees
seedlings to plant (avocadoes and mangoes). This, in turn will contribute to
the attainment of the government program of reducing malnutrition and
improving markets of fruits locally. The same perspective of partnership,
there is an opportunity to engage in dairy businesses, especially in milk
marketing (pasteurization, milk zones, processing of milk into various
products) where youth can obtain grant of up to 70% amounting to US
$10,000 for individual and US $20,000 for cooperative businesses in any of
the areas in the country.

RYAF has established other strategic partnerships with different actors in

the Youth and Agribusiness domains in a way to create linkages of access to
support from different channels and build a responsive and responsible
citizenship among the youth in agribusiness and food systems.

1.5 Office set up

In a way to deliver, RYAF has established a running Office made of support

staff and new Programs were put in place to respond to the needs of the
Youth in agriculture to fulfil the mission of Advocacy and Empowerment as
follow: RYAF TV, RYAF SHOP, RYAF Fund, RYAF Agribusiness Incubation,
RYAF Knowledge Management, RYAF Statistics, RYAF Internship and
Climate Smart Agriculture Technologies Program.

II PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEW ERA

In the year 2020 and beyond, RYAF looks forward to reach out to more
young farmers in peri-urban areas and rural areas mostly illiterate through
skills development, business development, continue increasing the number
of part time jobs, increase the number of internships, to negotiate and avail
land (at least 150 hectares, meaning 3 hectares per District) to youth for
start-ups, to create savings and lending groups amongst youth in
agriculture which is in line with RYAF Fund Program in a way to attract
other investment options and reduce the burdens constraining youth to
access finances. RYAF will create new partnerships with partners for RYAF
fund to be able to support youth to access finance, continue profiling best
success stories and shared them on social media, increase number of youth
to benefit from available grants, seeds, equipment, livestock, to prepare
ToTs for agribusiness incubation trainings: 12,380 youth on agribusiness
leadership management, 11,000 on voluntary savings and lending or access
to finance, 20,800 on agricultural farm operations management, 1,000 on
internal part time staff training, 500 on internships trainings and 600 on
mechanization and agriculture.