RYAF MAIN ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2019

DECEMBER 2019
I BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction on the chain of achievements from the year 2019

Rwanda Youth in Agribusiness Forum (RYAF) commenced operation in 2016 with major objectives
including the change of youth mindset and to open their eyes to opportunities in agribusiness for
job creation and economic development.

Since its creation, RYAF has been serving the youth in Rwanda through empowerment and
advocacy to embrace opportunities in agribusiness. As a voice for the youth farmers and
entrepreneurs in agriculture, RYAF celebrates a chain of achievements in the year 2019.

1.2 Narrowing the Gap of Unemployment

Through different partnerships, RYAF provided more than 592 part time employments to the youth
in various value chain domains (coffee, dairy, cassava, potato, beans, maize and horticulture). This
impacted about 500,000 farmers in these value chains. RYAF has created a RYAF shop to be able to
reduce costs of transaction and easily carry out advocacy in terms of taxes and access to finance
options. RYAF has worked with Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to manage internship program
where out of 851 interns, 633 were deployed across the country as agronomists to work with
different cooperatives from the two previous years. This internship is a very good channel where
young graduates are getting connected to jobs and they are starting their own agribusiness ventures.
RYAF has established the district coordination program where all youth in agricultural domains are
being represented from sector to district levels. RYAF has established RYAF Fund to leverage on
the existing opportunities in access to finance and create a fund by youth themselves where every
member pays Rwf 12,000 per annum. This fund is being linked to banks to create these important
linkages.

1.3 Capacity building

RYAF officially established Agribusiness Incubation Program where with important partners, young
people are now accessing facilities for technical and managerial skills development and market tests.
The program was started with aim to reach many centers (Universities, Higher Learning Institutions,
TVET Schools and Youth Centers) to create important mass agents of change in agribusiness from
the youth benefiting from different services and optimize opportunities found in agribusiness value
chains.

1.4 Creation of partnerships that benefit the youth

RYAF has established long term partnerships with the local government, especially districts to
facilitate the access and accountability on public resources (land, forests, buildings, other types of
assets and facilities), finances, knowledge and other important linkages to stakeholders and partners.

RYAF has been able to sign important Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)s with Rwanda
Agricultural and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) where youth in horticulture are now
able to get fruit trees seedlings to plant (avocadoes and mangoes). This, in turn will contribute to the
attainment of the government program of reducing malnutrition and improving markets of fruits
locally. The same perspective of partnership, there is an opportunity to engage in dairy businesses,
especially in milk marketing (pasteurization, milk zones, processing of milk into various products)
where youth can obtain grant of up to 70% amounting to US $10,000 for individual and US $20,000
for cooperative businesses in any of the areas in the country.

RYAF has established other strategic partnerships with different actors in the Youth and
Agribusiness domains in a way to create linkages of access to support from different channels and
build a responsive and responsible citizenship among the youth in agribusiness and food systems.

1.5 Office set up

In a way to deliver, RYAF has established a running Office made of support staff and new Programs
were put in place to respond to the needs of the Youth in agriculture to fulfil the mission of
Advocacy and Empowerment as follow: RYAF TV, RYAF SHOP, RYAF Fund, RYAF
Agribusiness Incubation, RYAF Knowledge Management, RYAF Statistics, RYAF Internship and
Climate Smart Agriculture Technologies Program.

II PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEW ERA

In the year 2020 and beyond, RYAF looks forward to reach out to more young farmers in peri-
urban areas and rural areas mostly illiterate through skills development, business development,
continue increasing the number of part time jobs, increase the number of internships, to negotiate
and avail land (at least 150 hectares, meaning 3 hectares per District) to youth for start-ups, to create
savings and lending groups amongst youth in agriculture which is in line with RYAF Fund Program
in a way to attract other investment options and reduce the burdens constraining youth to access
finances. RYAF will create new partnerships with partners for RYAF fund to be able to support
youth to access finance, continue profiling best success stories and shared them on social media,
increase number of youth to benefit from available grants, seeds, equipment, livestock, to prepare
ToTs for agribusiness incubation trainings: 12,380 youth on agribusiness leadership management,
11,000 on voluntary savings and lending or access to finance, 20,800 on agricultural farm operations
management, 1,000 on internal part time staff training, 500 on internships trainings and 600 on
mechanization and agriculture.