The agriculture sector plays a crucial role in ensuring food security and poverty alleviation, however, youth and women often face barriers to entry due to limited access to resources, knowledge, and support. The FSRP Incubation Programme seeks to bridge this gap by providing tailored support and resources to empower youth and women entrepreneurs in agriculture.
As part of FSRP component 3 activities of developing its priority value chains of rice, maize, soya, tomato and poultry (broiler), the Project seeks to promote value addition of these priority commodities. The FSRP Incubation Programme aims to support youth and women entrepreneurs interested in or already involved in value addition activities. Specifically, the incubation programme would support capacity building activities in value addition for priority value chains for selected youth and women, as well as support agricultural innovative start-ups and agritech innovators, on competitive bases to develop inspirational agricultural technologies aimed at addressing key challenges in the food systems. The programme would also to address the critical challenges faced by these demographic groups in accessing resources and support for entrepreneurial ventures in the agriculture sector.
The FSRP Incubation Programme is expected to contribute to the Project’s intermediate objective of reaching 14,000 women and youth with assets and services to improve marketing in certain value chains.
Objective
The main objective of the implementation of the incubation programme is to support the development of the Project’s priority value chains of rice, maize, soya, tomato and poultry(broiler), through value addition, by providing direct support through capacity building and provision of equipment for promising youth and women start-ups and viable existing agribusinesses.
Specifically, the incubation programme seeks to achieve the following specific objectives;
· Provide support for youth and women entrepreneurs in including promising start-ups, viable existing agribusinesses and agri-tech companies operating in the rice, maize, soya, tomato and poultry (broiler) value chains.
· Foster innovation and entrepreneurship among youth and women through training, mentorship, and equipment support.
· Improve food security and resilience by promoting and supporting sustainable agribusinesses led by youth and women.
· Create a network of empowered youth and women agri-preneurs and agri-techs who can serve as role models and mentors.
· Enhance gender and youth mainstreaming in agriculture and agribusiness.
Target Beneficiaries
The beneficiaries of the Incubation Programme are youth and women promising start-ups and viable existing agribusinesses and agri-techs, particularly those requiring support in capacity building (in value addition, packaging and labelling of processed foods; standards and certification; marketing and branding of food products; financial management for SMEs; record keeping and business development and establishment of processing facilities/cottage industries), as well as equipment and management support. Beneficiaries would include graduates from the SHS and tertiary institutions. Young professionals such as agri-tech professionals, teachers, nurses, farmers and employees in the formal sector, who are also engaged in value addition of rice, maize, soya, tomato and poultry (broiler) would also be targeted.
An estimated 5,060 youth and women are expected to benefit from the FSRP Incubation Programme by the end of FSRP in 2028. At least 40% of targeted beneficiaries are expected to be women.
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