UA-SAFGRAD participated in the African Agribusiness Incubation and Acceleration Conference 2025 and organized a panel event at the plenary on the topic “Competitive food grains transformation: overcoming challenges associated with youth inclusion in Agro-food systems development”.
The event was organized as part of the domestication process of the African Union’s Guidelines for Inclusive Agricultural Value Chains Development (iAVCD). To encourage and facilitate youth inclusion in agro-processing, there is a need to identify and address the policy and institutional challenges that limit youth entry and profitable performance as a business. The Guideline recognizes that solutions from best practices and lessons learned in implementing similar interventions across the continent have a greater chance of success. This is based on the fact that most African countries have somewhat similar development and market challenges. The 5-man Panel was drawn from youth/women agribusiness processors and industrialists with over 5years of experience in food grains processing and products markets in Africa. The event specifically targets the processing/value addition segment of the food grains value chains.
The intervention spotlighted challenges that limit inclusivity, especially among youth and women food grains processors in input sourcing, processing as well as in the products marketing and distribution nodes along the food grains value chains. The Panel discussion highlighted key challenges ranging from seasonality of input, pricing, storage and quality challenges. The high transaction costs associated with processing were linked to energy cost, cost of skilled labours, multiple taxes, cost of imported inputs and machine parts. Competition from low-cost imported products, high transport costs and general apathy of retailers/supermarket chains and consumers to accept local produce. The Panel further discussed measures adopted to overcome these challenges and calls for policy realignment to target support to youth and women food grain processors.