The Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF), in collaboration with FAO, the Ministry of Youth and Ministry of Trade (MINICOM), the Rwanda Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), and the Embassy of Sweden in Rwanda, organized a four-day Buy from Youth campaign from June 12 to 15, 2023, where it assisted the youth in agribusiness meet with people and receive guidance from various institutions.
Over the course of four days, every day had a unique characteristic and discussion topic. The first three days were dominated with panelist Webinars. Brief messages from the panelists were posted on e-flyers for social media outreach and posting to grab people's attention. Radios and TVs in particular were heavily involved in the media during these times to debate their own daily themes.
Day 2's session was titled "Enablers that Increase Youth Engagement in Agri-Food Systems," and Day 1's session was titled "Power of Youth in Transforming Agri-Food Systems." Days 3 and 4: Youth Decent Employment in Agri-Food Systems and Private Sector as Facilitator of Market Linkage, respectively The meeting to support young businesses.
The youth were urged by Sina Gérard, the owner and manager of the food-processing business Urwibutso Enterprises, to highlight what they are going to cultivate in order for Urwibutso Enterprises to purchase their product. Sina then provided them with a technician who assisted them. He advised them to be less materialistic, to be modest, and to seriously consider a career in agriculture.
What lessons have young people learned from buy from youth campaign?
Rwanda Institute for Conservation Agriculture student Akeza Germaine says, "I learned that supporting young entrepreneurs may promote economic growth, innovation, and job creation while simultaneously tackling youth unemployment. By introducing high-quality products to the market, youth must unlock the potential of agriculture.
Mr. Niyodushima Dieudonne, Co-Founder Exodus farm Ltd says “was a wonderful chance for me to interact with people. Having people means having customers in business. I interact with people who have supportive recommendations, those with innovative ideas, those with inspiring messages, etc. The campaign has served as a pillar for our commitment to client satisfaction.