A three-day workshop aimed at developing guidelines on strategic engagement and capacity development of youth with a focus on agripreneurship and scaling of technologies for increased productivity has begun in Accra, Ghana.

Organised by the Capacity Development and Technology Outreach (CDTO) Compact of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) in collaboration with the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD), the workshop brings together more than sixty young men and women, involved in diverse agricultural value chains from twenty-six countries across Africa.

Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) which leads the TAAT CDTO compact is hosting the workshop at its secretariat in Accra.

Funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), TAAT’s main objective is to improve the business of agriculture across Africa by raising agricultural productivity, mitigating risks and promoting diversification and processing in 18 agricultural value chains within eight Priority Intervention Areas (PIA).

The programme increases agricultural productivity through the deployment of proven and high-performance agricultural technologies at scale along nine value chains.

The three-day workshop is part of TAAT’s efforts at scaling up proven technologies across the continent.

Addressing participants during the opening ceremony, Dr. Irene Annor-Frempong, FARA’s Director for Research and Innovation, urged the youths to leverage on the opportunities and platforms that the workshop offers so in order for them to impact their communities when they return to their home countries.

She encouraged the participants to stay invigorated so they will be able to achieve the set objectives.

During the course of the workshop, participants will explore diverse youth engagement initiatives in various countries, brainstorm on ideas for a continental Youth Engagement Strategy, draft cases of experience capitalization, and go through TAAT value chains, Innovation Platforms and Knowledge Management among others.

It is expected that deliberations at this workshop will lead to the development of a practical and realistic action plan to strengthen youth initiatives for technology deployment. This includes reinforcing activities of the youth activities within the YPARD Africa network for example.

Also, the documentation of the capitalized experiences of youth engaged in agripreneurship will help identify opportunities for youth employment. Youth and women-led enterprise development will also be identified within the TAAT value chains through innovation platforms.

Eventually, the discussions are expected to validate the existing draft framework on what will be more effective in building capacity for agri-preneurship development within TAAT value chains, as well as key areas to focus on, when developing Africa’s youth agri-preneurship strategy.