East African regional workshop on youth-led sustainable agriculture and urban food systems

Mbale, Uganda – Rikolto Country Office in Uganda will be hosting 40 Youths from the Uganda, Kenya, DRC, Tanzania and Rwanda in a Workshop on “Youth-led Sustainable Agriculture for Urban Food Systems in East Africa.”

The training-cum- knowledge sharing workshop will take place at Wash & Wills Hotel Mbale, from the 25th – 29th March 2019, and is organised in collaboration with Young Professional for Agricultural Development (YPARD), an international movement of young professionals in agriculture, and is supported by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

The objective of the training is to strengthen the capacities of youth farmers in sustainable agriculture, enhance rural and urban linkages and contribute to urban food systems. The workshop will also focus on capacity building and peer-to-peer knowledge exchange among and by young farmers of the region. “We are pleased to partner with YPARD on this important knowledge sharing training workshop especially for youths in the region,” says Caroline Kahamutima, Rikolto Uganda Country Office Manager. “This training and learning event will facilitate an open space for young farmers to interact, learn best practices, mostly focused on production practices, innovations and value chains closely linked to urban markets.

Notable highlights of the training workshop include:

• On–the–field training to be conducted by Rikolto with the focus on good agriculture practices for sustainable production.
• Knowledge-exchange between and among young farmers facilitated by YPARD
• Rural youth have access to key stakeholders within their clusters in the respective value chains, mentors as well as business support services pursuant to engage in relevant segments of their choice “Our goal is to increase capacities of young progressive farmers in sustainable agriculture practices that can lead to sustainable development.

This five-day event will enable young progressive farmers from all over East Africa to learn and collaborate together to improve our food system in the region” says Paul Zaake, YPARD’s Country Representative.

Dr Kakoli Ghosh, from the Sustainable Agriculture Management Team at FAO says, “Small towns and cities are expanding rapidly. It is very important to ensure that young farmers are engaged in sustainable agriculture practices to ensure access to safe and nutritious food and create efficient and inclusive rural-urban partnerships.”

Find original press release on Rikolto website