Team from AFRISA & PSU Kick off Haymaking Business Training for Ugandan & Kenyan Youth
We are proud to announce the commencement of trainings next week in Uganda for youth to learn the technology, production, and business of haymaking. On June 16th, 70 students, extension workers, and farmers from Uganda and Kenya will gather outside Kampala to learn the intricacies of the haymaking business in a two week intensive training program. These trainings are an important component of the, “Youth Employment and Income Enhancement Project (YEIEP): Haymaking as a Business Opportunity,” spearheaded by a research team composed of Michael Kansiime and John Kabasa from AFRISA (African Institute for Strategic Animal Resource Services and Development), and Sjoerd Duiker and Ephraim Govere from Penn State University.
Through a series of workshops and training modules, students will gain the technical knowledge and management skills needed to start their own haymaking businesses. Upon completion of training, they will be awarded the “Artisan Certificate in Hay Technology, Production and Business of AFRISA, Makerere University”. Students will then pioneer their hay businesses in their respective communities, with mentoring and guidance from the AFRISA Enterprise nurturing team over a period of four months.
As part of an effort to address the high unemployment rate among youth in Uganda and Kenya, YEIEP aims to create haymaking businesses in the region and provide youth with the skills needed to become entrepreneurs. With this project, the YEIEP team hopes to foster new employment opportunities for youth and encourage future partnerships on this issue.
The YEIEP team are working with the proceeds of an up to $20,000 USD prize that they won following the GKI and Penn State-organized 2012 Africa Collaboration Colloquium. The Collaboration Challenge Prize gave the YEIEP team the boost they needed to develop training materials, and hold their upcoming training.
Contributor: Srujana Penumetcha
