The Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) through its Lead Firm Structure Protect has signed a memorandum of understanding with Mukwano Industries Limited as a lead firm in Agricultural sector to create 50,000 jobs for the young people.
The partnership which is supported by Mastercard Foundation is to support young people between the age of 18 and 35, and create jobs across the agricultural value chain in the next 5 years.
The two (PSFU and Mukwano) signed a memorandum of understanding, and launched the partnership at the Mukwano Industries headquarters in Kampala on Tuesday.
Through the partnership, Mukwano Industries Limited as a Lead Firm will equip farmers with skills to train small scale farmers on good agronomic practices, and post – harvest handling practices through identification and registration of smallholder farmers (households) in to producer organizations (groups) with support from Local government leaders and the already existing Mukwano extension service networks at parish levels.
Speaking at the event, Francis Kisirinya, the Acting Executive Director, PSFU said the initiative is good for the young people because 75% of the Ugandan population is below 30 years, adding that 600,000 leave school, but only 150,000 are absorbed into formal work.
He added that markets are hard to access by young people especially women due to lack of information on availability of markets, poor skills among others leading to their enterprises dying off in the first anniversary.
“Therefore, when they venture in on their own, the results are not desirable. Either middlemen rip them off, or they fail to sell, all leading to disappointment and abandonment of agriculture,” he said.
“We are partnering with Lead firms in the agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality sectors to utilize the opportunity gaps identified across the value chain. We have so far on-boarded 17 out of 80 lead firms- Mukwano being the 17th. We are excited about the partnership with Mukwano Industries Limited because with this, we will be able to make measureable and lasting impact in Uganda,” he said.
PSFU as the implementing partner through the Lead Firm Structure Project will create a total of 300,000 work opportunities in sectors of; agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, and construction & housing with 70% of the beneficiaries being young women.
PSFU have so far generated up to 142,000 potential work opportunities through 16 Lead Firms.
The Mukwano Industries Limited Chief Executive Officer, Tony Gadhoke applauded Mastercard Foundation for making “correct decision” to support the initiative.
“Our aim over the next 5 years is to develop 50,000 new young farmers and business people. This will supplement the already almost 90,000 farmers we work with who grow and supply us with sunflower and soyabean grains to enable us support Uganda through import substitution of oils and livestock feeds,” he said.
He said that annually, Mukwano buys an upward of 100 billion shillings of oil seeds from farmers from over 30 districts.
Under the initiative, Gadhoke said they will give young women and men necessary skills and training to become business people while simultaneously giving them access to improved seed, requisite agro inputs and technical know-how to produce sunflower and soyabean grains.
“We shall contract them to supply us grains at prevailing competitive market prices with guaranteed market. Some of the young people will be trained to become lead farmers and village agents thereby expanding their earning capacities,” he said.
PSFU Chairman, Dr Elly Karuhanga said, “this integration can foster development in our country. Young people especially girls will benefit to fight poverty.”
He added that for a country like Uganda to with young people has to get jobs, and as a result described Mukwano’s endeavours to achieve this as “amazing.”
“We want to deliver 50,000 jobs across the value chain, and we know we will do it. We are hoping that by the end of 2022, we will have 80 lead firms, and by 2025, we will have created 300,000 jobs in the country. We want Uganda to be an agricultural country where we have competitive advantage,” he said.
Patience Byaruhanga, the Lead, agriculture at Mastercard Foundation said the latter looks forward to finding solutions to youth unemployment and poverty in Uganda.
“We want to help young people fight poverty especially young women. Young people should find employment. We want young people to find jobs in agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality.”
She said that young people in Uganda are the most enterprising in the world, and therefore not only their lives should be improved, but also for their families.
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