Youth in Agribusiness: Coping with COVID-19 in the context of a Changing Climate

COVID-19 is a health crisis. But it could also lead to a food security crisis if correct measures are not put in place. Our country was facing malnutrition and food security challenges long before this virus appeared.
Agriculture and all other parts of the food chain have to be treated as part of “essential” work – work that can, therefore, continue even when other parts of the economy come to a halt.
To enable stable food supply, farmers especially youth in our country need support from the government and NGOs. As well as staying healthy enough to farm well, they need access to affordable inputs at the right time, to reliable infrastructure, good advice, and many other services. The food chain as a whole needs support, too from governments and its funders.
Agribusiness is affected by travel bans as well as reduced competition, because traders are less willing to travel to production areas. Making sure that travel bans do not negatively affect food trade is paramount. To reduce the need of travel, youth farmers need form groups and market their produce instead of individually, also use of e -marketing can help bring buyers to them instead of taking their produce to them. It is really important, for the government to ensure that food continues to be able to pass borders freely. Importantly, agri-food systems must be kept functioning in order to avoid food crisis and maintain livelihoods. This means that farmers must be allowed to farm, traders to trade and sellers to sell.
Small scale farmers are currently affected in two ways. Produce prices are lower, and input prices are up or inputs not available. Small scale Farmers will thus have lower incentives to produce these crops, likely leading to lower yields and production in the near future. To avoid further disruptions to food supply, ensuring the availability of agricultural inputs to these farmers at low prices, and assuring incentives for production, should be a priority for the government in the next few months.
Urban demand for fruits and vegetables—high value, nutritionally rich foods—is declining. It is possible that this is driven by misinformation regarding the risk of contracting COVID-19 from produce. If so, there is a need for widespread and effective information campaigns. Also COVID-19 has led to job losses which has affected urban demand.
COVID-19 is a challenge for all of us. It can also be an opportunity. We need to be proactive, and all pull together. Agriculture can play a vital role – if given the right chances to do so.

COVID-19 is a health crisis. But it could also lead to a food security crisis if correct measures are not put in place. Our country was facing malnutrition and food security challenges long before this virus appeared.
Agriculture and all other parts of the food chain have to be treated as part of “essential” work – work that can, therefore, continue even when other parts of the economy come to a halt.
To enable stable food supply, farmers especially youth in our country need support from the government and NGOs. As well as staying healthy enough to farm well, they need access to affordable inputs at the right time, to reliable infrastructure, good advice, and many other services. The food chain as a whole needs support, too from governments and its funders.
Agribusiness is affected by travel bans as well as reduced competition, because traders are less willing to travel to production areas. Making sure that travel bans do not negatively affect food trade is paramount. To reduce the need of travel, youth farmers need form groups and market their produce instead of individually, also use of e -marketing can help bring buyers to them instead of taking their produce to them. It is really important, for the government to ensure that food continues to be able to pass borders freely. Importantly, agri-food systems must be kept functioning in order to avoid food crisis and maintain livelihoods. This means that farmers must be allowed to farm, traders to trade and sellers to sell.
Small scale farmers are currently affected in two ways. Produce prices are lower, and input prices are up or inputs not available. Small scale Farmers will thus have lower incentives to produce these crops, likely leading to lower yields and production in the near future. To avoid further disruptions to food supply, ensuring the availability of agricultural inputs to these farmers at low prices, and assuring incentives for production, should be a priority for the government in the next few months.
Urban demand for fruits and vegetables—high value, nutritionally rich foods—is declining. It is possible that this is driven by misinformation regarding the risk of contracting COVID-19 from produce. If so, there is a need for widespread and effective information campaigns. Also COVID-19 has led to job losses which has affected urban demand.
COVID-19 is a challenge for all of us. It can also be an opportunity. We need to be proactive, and all pull together. Agriculture can play a vital role – if given the right chances to do so.

This is indeed a timely discussion. I have been asking Kenyan Pastoralists similar questions through a mobile application platform and they indeed respond that COVID has affected their livelihood. Most of them have reduced their livestock sales, consumption and migration. These issues cannot be discussed fully without the climate change adaptation element. For instance, If measures to safeguard optimal migration must be put in place, maybe to have a clean balance of social distancing,then youth engagement in efforts to adapt to climate change must prevail.

I am Chukwu Emeka Mordzie from Ghana,I farm pigs and other farm animals,covid 19 has come as a ghost an tormenting my young business,it has made my business slowed down in two ways, my cost of raw materials for formulating have gone up because of the scarsity that covid 19 has brought, then also a lower quantity is being sold now for a higher price.
Secondly my clientele have stopped buying my pork making life hard for me and my workers,those who used to travel from other regions to buy from me have also stop coming, complaining of fear getting infected even when all restrictions or the lock down is no more,but when u tell them " don't worry I will bring it myself now they say they don't have money"

This is a great opportunity to have an overview of how youth agribusiness or entrepreneurs are actually coping with the COVID-19 pandemic.

My name is Folakè Koutchade (Benin), my enterprise is specialized in suplying the urban market in fresh produces from the farm, actually we are venturing in supplying plantain and pawpwa. As a young person engaged in agribusiness in Benin (West Africa), the main challenge faced, was to have the business stopped at a point of time. As the COVID-19 pandemic have not spared any country, measures taken by the government limited or stopped the contact with supplier or buyer, despite the fact that we integrates the use of ICT in our business. Farmers had produces they couldn't sell because we were no more able to directly interact with them.

In the meantime, measures have been eased and we are trying to continue as usual, taking into account social distancing, which is not easy especially when consumers prefer to touch products they are about to buy.

Folakè Koutchade
Manager Agrikoo (agrikoo.biz)
(linkedin.com/in/folakè-koutchade)

There is debate going on that some African countries have become too dependent from import of rice as staple food. Now Asian countries stop exporting rice - first secure their domestic demand - and during the COVID crisis staple food prices could rise in importing countries.
Is this an issue in Keya?
In Kenya, is there still demand for "local/traditional" staple food? And,
Is producing "local?traditional" staple food an opportunity for youth in agribusiness? 

The Covid19 Pandemic coupled with the climate change have severely affected the Agriculture Industry. In my country the effects have been a slowed economic activities as it has been for most countries. We have seen reduced food production due to the restrictions in movements. Our response has started unfolding with the introduction of the NEW NORMAL. As a Youth Cooperative I belong to, we have started going to the farm in groups with all the necessary protective gears and adherence to recommendations given by the Ministry of Health. This situation of climate change has provoked us to focus on Sustainable Agriculture such as conservation Agriculture. As an entire Youth in Agribusiness movement; we need to join hands in tree planting and invest so much in Precision Agriculture that would help to conserve our environment.

The business of Agriculture is laden with a number of complexities that hitherto serve as bottlenecks in the facilitation of trades within it's ecosystem.

Climate change has dealt a blow on the outlook of Agribusiness enterprise as much more input is demanded to meet the target output. COVID-19 has further deepened the impact of the blow by creating restrictions to movement and reduction on business engagements.

In Nigeria, Youth in Agribusiness are awarded government pass as well as associations identity card in a bid to ensure safe passage of people and goods associated with Agribusiness engagements. This has in a way help to maintain production and distribution of food over the period of COVID-19 pandemic.

© Oluwatosin Ogunsola
www.linkedin.com/in/emmanuel-ogunsola-0884bba8

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