On November 21, 2023, a youth poultry advocacy meeting was place at the Kigali Serna Hotel. It was organized by the Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum and the Master Card Foundation to discuss the challenges and propose solutions for further transformation from the subsistence sector to the market-oriented sector.

A youth poultry advocacy meeting was themed Advocacy Meeting to the Contribution of the Transformative Poultry Industry among the Youth, in her opening remarks, RYAF Chairperson Sakina USENGIMANA expressed gratitude to all attendees of this advocacy meeting to the contribution of the transformative poultry industry among the youth." Additionally, she thanked the MasterCard Foundation for helping to make this advocacy meeting possible.

Youth in poultry farming, attending a youth poultry advocacy meeting presented various challenges they faced including Expensive feed, poor local genetic breeds & diseases, HACCP document requirements, Access to the market, Low access to mentorship, and Price fluctuations.

 Fabrice Ndayisenga, Head of Animal Resource Research and Technology Transfer Department at Rwanda Agriculture Board (RAB) urged the youth to join together and use opportunities that exist in the agriculture sector, especially in poultry farming, and bring innovation to it. In addition, he also asked them to come together and create a large–scale pet food project using black soldier flies to cut down on the quantity of soya beans required in chicken feed.

In his remarks, The Executive Secretary of the National Youth Council Mr. MWESIGWA Robert, assured the RYAF that they will continue to work together in sharing opportunities for the youth in agriculture and continue to advocate for them.

During his speech, Mr. MWESIGWA Robert, the Executive Secretary of the National Youth Council, gave the RYAF the assurance that they will keep cooperating to share opportunities and to advocate for youth in the agriculture sector.

The government of Rwanda recognizes the significant role that the poultry sector can play in its economy and has outlined its vision in the Livestock Master Plan published in 2017 (MINAGRI 2017). The plan aims to transform the poultry industry from a subsistence-based sector to a knowledge-intensive and market-oriented sector, with the goal of raising the number of hens from 5.2 million in 2016 to 7.1 million in 2022.

Poultry production is among the foremost important agripreneurship ventures involved in the

Youths in Rwanda for the egg or meat production industry for the rudimentary poultry, based on the Opportunities found in this industry, easy planning, and low investment.

                                                                                                                                                                          RYAF Communication team