Land rights; hindering youth participation in agriculture

Early this year, a 29-year-old man was arrested for allegedly beating his father to death in Butere district, Kakamega County
Mr. Waswa killed his father Mzee Kombo, 65 and also a neighbor who was responding to the distress call from Mzee Kombo on that fateful night.
Waswa had a land dispute with his father; after unsuccessful search for a white color job in the city, Waswa resorted to going back home and start farming as away of self-employment. He therefore approached his father for his piece of land inheritance as per their communities’ customs but the father couldn’t hear of it. The father believed that by giving out the land to his son he will be signaling his readiness to die and so he told his son off.
Cases of land disputes such as this one are rampant in Africa and given the huge role land plays in agriculture and it is going to play in solving youth employment problem, they need to be addressed right from the roots. While we should not condone such actions as Waswa’s, parents have a key role in preventing such occurrences.

Market information: Good for farming business and food security

“Why is it that our youth today are easily spending 1000 shilling on a single vote to keep Sharon in the Big Brother Africa House, and are rather less inclined to pay for mobile market info at 1200 Shilling a months?”
This food for thought was shared by Enoth Mbeine of FIT-Uganda during one of the sessions at the successful APF Uganda Market Information Symposium held in Kampala on 15 and 16 September. It sums up that the innovations are there, but getting them implemented and refined may take another quantum leap: farming needs to be seen as a viable business, especially by the youths.
Close to 170 participants from the business sector, farmer groups, government, development agencies, NGOs and service providers (including media) rolled in and out of the venue for two days. They networked, shared information at the market, listened to diverse presentations on innovations in the sector from Uganda, Kenya, and Rwanda, and discussed ways forward.

What I think about the use mobile phones and M-Pesa in kenya as asked by Chriss Hess

Why is M-Pesa so popular in Kenya?

M-Pesa's popularity is attributed to the following;

1. Banks are seen by many as expensive to operate in terms of fees they charge their customers for the storage and withdrawal services, Their services can only be accessed in major towns or even only in Nairobi for some. Given that through M-Pesa one can cheaply have these services and conveniently withdraw or deposit cash from that village M-Pesa kiosk, the service has become so popular.
2. A higher percentage of Kenyans are poor and these are the people to whom it will be uneconomical to save 500 shillings in a bank when the bank's minimum balance is 200 shillings and it cost 50 shillings to withdraw it. This popularity is therefore attributed to the high numbers of people in this class.
3. A phone can cost from as little as 999 to over 50, 000 shillings depending on the type of phone and who's buying. This affordability of phones and the fact that they all have the same M-Pesa features has contributed to the popularity of M-Pesa too.
4. It is easy to open and operate an M-Pesa account  

 Do Kenyans think that it’s expensive or complicated to use a mobile phone?

It is a yes and a no depending on the type of phone and who's using it. Some illiterate and old people who are not technologically savvy have just mustered to art of calling and receiving calls - the green and red buttons and they don't bother about other applications. In this context, it's not complicated but when they think of other applications it is. Expensive or not? It depends on the person buying and the type of phone also.

 What might happen if more and more people have mobile phones with internet connection?

I can do emailing and even search for information from the internet anytime from anywhere. This' the kind of empowerment people will get by this and accrue all benefits that come with it. It is usually said here information is power.

How to make money from farming

One area that one can invest in and get good returns is agriculture. But making money in the sector means having knowledge and skills on crop production or livestock keeping. Dr Annemarie Kamuyu, the co-founder of Kilimo Faida, knows this only too well.

She believes that improving agricultural productivity requires development and adoption of suitable agricultural technologies. In 2008, with the help of a colleague, she founded Kilimo Faida, which aims to find markets for farmers and update them on market prices. Dr Kamuyu, who implements and oversees the workings of the project, says it also helps farmers get access to seasonal credit and obtain farm inputs like seeds, agrochemicals, fertilisers, soil testing services and the expert advice of agronomists.

The organisation is also engaged in training farmers in agricultural best practices. She explains how financing the farmer works and how one can get the most out of agriculture. She also gives us her thoughts on money.
full article in the daily nation

Mobile Communications to Transform Smallholding Farmers' Livelihoods in Emerging Markets

On 10th of October 2011 Vodafone and Accenture announced the findings of a ground-breaking new research programme intended to measure the impact of mobile communications on the lives and prosperity of farming communities in some of the world's poorest countries.
The research, which has been welcomed by Oxfam, assesses the potential benefits of new mobile data services such as weather forecasts, commodity market information and mobile banking for smallholding farmers operating in marginal circumstances.

The role of mobile communications in driving efficiency and sustainability in the food and agriculture value chain

I was checking out on this report by WBCSD-SNV Alliance: Inclusive business and I cannot help but wonder what is keeping us from progressing with such research and technological innovations?

What is the impact of mobile communications on the lives and prosperity of farming communities in some of the world's poorest countries? A new report published this week, Connected Agriculture (click to download) assesses the potential benefits of new mobile data services such as weather forecasts, commodity market information and mobile banking for smallholding farmers operating in marginal circumstances.

The report, produced by Vodafone, one of the world's largest mobile communications companies, and Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, highlights a potential US$ 138 billion uplift in emerging market farmers' incomes, which will mostly be derived from the growth of

Need for working on the image

In our endeavors to endear farming to people, there is a great need to work on people’s attitude on it. Agriculture is perceived as a low paying venture reserved for the poor, old fashioned and less educated in the society.
If young people are to choose to work in agriculture, all these need to be changed. There’s need to paint the sector as both a financially rewarding sector and as modern and challenging. However, for many young people, farming is perceived as old-fashioned, offering little opportunity for making money, and generally being something that you do if you fail your school exams, and cannot get a paid job in some other business. Those who decide to make a living from farming feel ashamed in front of their friends and they’d rather say they are jobless.
This image of farming can be addressed by use of agricultural extension officers, incorporation of youth-friendly information accessing/disseminating tools like ICTs, governments and non-government organizations organizing trainings for young people to start income generating agricultural-based projects and offering jobs for the youths in the sector instead of the old people. Above all, proper enumeration will see many youths streaming to the sector.

Understanding this could easen the incorporation of the use of ICTs in Agriculture;

MobileYouth Report 2012: Generation O

View more presentations from Graham Brown (mobileYouth)

To be or not to be

Getting the same message but from a different person makes a difference:
Young, award-winning agriculture student from Fiji, Riten Chand Gosai, urges young people to consider agriculture as a potentially successful career, while dispelling the myths surrounding this important but much neglected occupationPondering on an idyllic prelude for this article, I remembered my English literature classes back at high school and studying the drama ‘Hamlet’ – legend of a prince who at one stage of his life is in great dilemma. He contemplates over surviving the harshness of the living world contrary to the peacefulness of death. Similarly, we all face this ‘to be or not to be’ decision in secondary school; or should I say ‘to do or not to do’ decision when it comes to choosing our subject combinations. Just like Hamlet found it hard to capitulate to death as he would be termed frail, many students find it difficult to opt for ‘agriculture’ with the trepidation of being labelled ‘taking the easy way out’ or ‘a future farmer’ – trust me, I was. Agriculture seems to be a harsh pill to swallow for many students

No money to start farming? a loan can jump start you on the path to self-employment and food sufficiency.

After seeing so many indebted people get pummeled by the recession — not to mention the auctioning mess many find themselves in — a newfound fear of borrowing has crept into the minds of many people. Young people are graduating with the highest levels of student debt – helb loan (Higher Education Loans Board) — Kes 240, 000 on average and therefore the last thing one would want is to incur other debts. Many young people equate debt with bad consequences. They saw their parents suffer and the whole economy suffer because of too much debt.
Although a shift towards saving over spending can be a positive think, and foster steady economic growth instead of volatile booms and busts, an exaggerated fear of debt can deter young people and in this context farmers from important investments in their future. One bank official said; “Not taking on debt is sinking the futures of many young adults” and I think my money will go with this particular person.
With the current youth unemployment crisis among the youths and huge untapped opportunities in the agricultural sector, all the youths need to do is to shed this uncalled for credit phobia and make use of these excellent credit opportunities offered by financial institutions to farmers and the wannabes. These credit opportunities are like the moon – just like it, they have their dark and brighter sides too depending on the debtor. Armed with correct usage of the loan and adequate information, a loan should help us invest in agriculture salvage us from unemployment and food related problems.

Starvation in the 21st Century? It's just not right!

A child is fed on aid food

Meetings and conferences will not rid the world of this scourge called hunger. In the recent times, we've seen effects of the drought currently ravaging the Horn of Africa on human beings and especially on children through the media. Who is to blame for the recurrence of the drought, of the famine? Should anyone be blamed? Should anyone take responsibility? United Nations estimated nearly 14 million people being affected. Has this famine attracted as much attention and support like previous famines of similar magnitude? It is doubtful, given the economic hardships donor countries are going through, and other threats to human peace that have taken centre stage.

Malnourished children

"An Assessment of the Response to the 2008-2009 Drought in Kenya” by ILRI (International Livestock Research Institute) recommends migratory herding as the best way to deal with the effects of recurring drought in the North of Kenya . The Kenya Government commissioned the study. The recommendations would clearly apply to the Horn of Africa, which holds an estimated population of 70 million people.
The report argues that the expansive area in question is too important to ignore, and that turning herders into sedentary populations is not the answer. Nomads do not like sedentary lifestyles; it makes them miserable and pushes them to abject poverty. They have survived for generations in these types of environment and one would think that they would be involved in discussions concerning their welfare. In Kenya, for example, efforts to settle the pastoralists have been going n since independence in 1963. It is as if that was the only solution, settling down everyone to practice agriculture. Yet, the greater part of the country (80%) is either arid or semi-arid. Each time there is a drought, the whole country is affected.
One wonders what we would be seeing today if major investments had been made to develop these desert areas right from the start. Exploration oil and minerals could have started a long time ago, to create both jobs and wealth. Also, rather than wait to focus on this region only when there is severe drought and people are moving, an earlier focus could have been on how to convert it to a favourably habitable environment, into a mega city, for example. What a great tourist destination that could make! Would we be seeing pictures of starving children if these types of investments had been made earlier? Would Kenya still be depending on foreign aid for its development? Who knows, maybe and just maybe, the now desolate, “non-productive” region might be the one providing Kenya’s wealth, instead of the “burden” it has become. Successive Kenyan governments have tried to do something meaningful for the people of North Eastern Province, but the distance from the centre, the harsh climate, and the now porous and insecure borders make it a difficult region for the government to commit adequate resources to develop it even halfway.

Ensuring food security through proper preservation methods

Drying Onions for preservation

For centuries people in various countries have been preserving dates, figs, apricots, grapes, bananas, pineapples, other fruits, herbs, cassava, yams, potatoes, corn, peas, onions, garlic, carrots, peppers, milk, coffee, meat, and fish by drying. But drying is also beneficial for hay, copra (kernel of the coconut), tea and other income producing non-food crops. It is worth noting that until around the end of the 18th century when canning was developed, drying was virtually the only method of food preservation until the invention of the freezing and canning methods.

Apart from addressing the issue of food security by minimizing food loss from perishing to ensure food supply all year round; dried foods are tasty, nutritious, lightweight, easy-to-prepare, and easy-to-store and use. The energy input is less than what is needed to freeze or can, and the storage space is minimal compared with that needed for canning jars and freezer containers.

The nutritional value of the food is only minimally affected by drying. Vitamin A is retained during drying; however, because vitamin A is light sensitive, food containing it should be stored in dark places. Yellow and dark green vegetables, such as peppers, carrots, winter squash, and sweet potatoes, have high vitamin A content. Vitamin C is destroyed by exposure to heat, although pretreating foods with lemon, orange, or pineapple juice increases vitamin C content.

Dried foods are high in fiber and carbohydrates and low in fat, making them healthy food choices. Dried foods that are not completely dried are susceptible to mold.

Microorganisms are effectively killed when the internal temperature of food reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit (F).

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Highest returns on investment; try agribusiness

There are fast ways of generating wealth and jobs, and slow ways. Yet I never heard an aspiring entrepreneur talking about their return on capital when they were outlining the printing business, the chicken farm, the online fruit store, or the removals company they wanted to launch.Follow this link to see how agribusiness can make a difference

Land rights, poverty and food security

Women are the ones who farm for food. Women are the ones who feed families. So there is an evident link between land rights for woman and food security in Africa and therefore lacking secure land tenure, women are less likely to invest in improved farm production. As we seek to involve youths in agriculture, we also need to address them in respect to land rights too.
Better land rights definitely translate into the ability of one to invest into the land resources. However, it is not just a question of good land rights that will guarantee our food security – this also comes with proper infrastructure.
The relation between food security and ending poverty is clear. You need land to produce and if you do not have access to land, you cannot invest in it in order to increase your productivity.
There is a corelation between having land rights, achieving food security and overcoming poverty. But land isn't the only asset that women and youths require. A package of support must accompany land rights. We must also look at food sovereignty because food sovereignty is about all the aspects that relate to food: not just the land, not just having something to eat but also to ensure that we protect our seeds, we protect our environment and that we have good quality food that is culturally acceptable – as is being encouraged by Infonet-Biovision