Farming opportunities for young people
Boys from Bwake school on the school allotment learning how to grow kale in preparation for their future life as farmers.
Two-thirds of Kenyans depend directly on agriculture for their living. But most Kenyan schools are unable to equip their students with the skills and agricultural knowledge that they need to make a living from agriculture in later life.
Kenyan students also find it hard to access the sexual health information they need, leading to high HIV infection rates and a loss of agricultural labour because of illness.
Many more young Kenyans struggle to find work, or only have low-paid jobs. This prolongs their dependency on their parents and fuels frustrations, which increases the likelihood of violence or conflict.
Farm training
Farm Africa works to address these problems by encouraging young people to create their own employment opportunities so they can earn money to support themselves and their families. We’re helping them:
- set up demonstration plots where they can receive basic farming training and learn how to improve the quality of their crops
- learn how to grow high-value crops such as spinach, passion fruit and tomatoes
- learn marketing skills to get the best price at market
- train as youth counsellors in sexual and reproductive health so they can educate their friends and fellow students about safe sexual behaviour.
One school that had 23 pregnancies in the year before our training started had none the following year.
Who are we helping?
We are supporting 898 young people in the Trans-Nzoia East district of Kenya’s Rift Valley Province. Around 3,000 further people will benefit indirectly.
Farm aid not food aid
Support our work today and help rural African families end their reliance on food aid.
