• KCB Foundation’s 2jiajiri and GIZ’s Employment and Skills for Eastern Africa (E4D/SOGA) Programme in Kenya have partnered to increase employability and income generation for 4,000 youth in the informal sector in Kenya.

KCB Foundation and GIZ have heightened support towards youth unemployment and food security in Kenya.

The Foundation and GIZ on Thursday 29 March 2018, graduated 350 programme beneficiaries who have successfully completed a three-month training in the innovative hydroponic farming.  This is part of a six months training course consisting of three months classroom training with practical exercises and the other three months on construction of units and actual group production of the agricultural produce.

The hydroponic farming training that was conducted at Miramar International College (MIC) in Kikuyu, is a soil-less farming method, and a subset of hydroculture, where plants are grown using only a mineral nutrient solution in a water solvent. The technology utilises less space and water and crops mature within a short time.

The graduates have been equipped with hydroponic techniques of producing vegetables, tomatoes, strawberries and livestock fodder among other food crops.

Speaking during the colorful event at the college, KCB Foundation Executive Director Jane Mwangi noted there was need to adopt innovative approaches towards involving the youth in agricultural production.

This, she added, will play a great role in solving the unemployment challenge in Kenya and addressing food shortages.

KCB Foundation Executive Director Jane Mwangi presents a certificate to Michael Linus Ouma during the KCB Foundation/ GIZ agribusiness training graduation held at Miramar International College, Kikuyu. Looking on are President of Miramar International College Prof Dominic Mwenja and the GIZ Programme Director for Employment and Skills for Eastern Africa (E4D/ SOGA)- Kenya Aregash Asfaw.

“The innovativeness and readiness of the youth to embrace new technologies in farming makes it attractive to engage them in productive agricultural undertakings. KCB Foundation’s theme for 2018 which focuses on the youth in agriculture resonates with food security, one of the country’s current priorities,” she said.

The Executive Director added that hydroponic farming technology addresses several challenges that come with access to land.

“Land is often scarce and difficult to access for young people, and without collateral getting credit to buy land is nigh on impossible. With hydroponic technology space can be effectively utilised,” she said.

The beneficiaries are part of the Skills and Enterprise Development project, an initiative between KCB Foundation’s 2jiajiri programme and GIZ’s E4D/SOGA (Employment and Skills for Eastern Africa) programme. The project offers scholarships for vulnerable youth in short technical courses in Agribusiness, Building and Construction. In the agricultural sector the emphasis is on hydroponics and aquaponics, an innovative fish farming method that will be commissioned in 2018.

This is achieved through practical oriented vocational training, life skills, work readiness training and enterprise development skills necessary to drive employment and wealth creation in the construction and agriculture sectors.

“The training for the agriculture sector takes 3 months of which the third month involves the construction of units and actual group production of the agricultural produce. The youth will then be organised and facilitated to enter into production contracts with large scale off-takers and retailers such as supermarkets,” Ms Mwangi explained.

The Programme Director of E4D/SOGA Kenya Aregash Asfaw stated that KCB Foundation and GIZ signed a partnership agreement in May 2017 with the aim of increasing employability and income generation for 4,000 youth in the informal sector (2,000 in construction and 2,000 in agriculture sector) in Kenya.

“We recognise the critical role of collaborative partnerships in pooling both technical and financial resources to facilitate improved access to both hardware and software aspects of enterprise development among the youth. It is for this reason that we are supporting two crucial sub-sectors in a bid to address youth unemployment in Kenya”, said Ms Asfaw.

The graduates will undergo business incubation support offered by the Foundation as they seek to establish their own businesses in the hydroponic sector.