Engaging Kenyan Youth in Agriculture (EKYAN)
Equipping young people with the skills and resources needed to transform agri-food systems, access livelihoods and build climate-smart agriculture models.
How it works | Impact | Our unique approach | Partners | Get involved
Across Africa, climate change, environmental degradation and economic uncertainty are putting food systems, rural livelihoods and smallholder farming under increasing pressure.
At the same time, agrifood systems remain the world’s largest labour sector, employing close to 1.3 billion people globally, and accounting for 64.5 per cent of total employment in Africa.
This creates major potential for young people to build livelihoods, enterprises and more resilient local economies. Yet many young farmers and agripreneurs lack the tools, skills, finance and market access needed to turn this potential into decent livelihoods and growing businesses. For many young people, the sector is still seen as difficult to access, low-return or disconnected from modern skills and technology.
With the right support, agriculture can become a more productive, sustainable and rewarding pathway for young people, helping them build stable livelihoods while contributing to more climate-smart food systems in their communities.
Engaging Kenyan Youth in Agriculture and Nutrition (EKYAN) builds on this opportunity by equipping young people, especially women, with digital tools, market-driven skills and practical learning to access employment and entrepreneurship in agribusiness. The programme supports young farmers and agripreneurs to grow viable businesses, strengthen livelihoods and advance regenerative agriculture models that promote circular economies and climate-smart food systems.
How the EKYAN programme works
EKYAN connects young agripreneurs, farming communities and schools through a practical model that links skills, services, and local opportunity in climate-smart agriculture.
The programme works by creating a cycle of support:
- Young agripreneurs are trained to create and grow businesses that can generate income, employment and local agricultural services.
- Farmers access support to strengthen their smallholdings through climate-smart practices, crop advice, soil testing, quality inputs, credit facilitation and market linkages.
- Young people learn about food systems through practical training on healthy diets, agribusiness and the opportunities available across the agri-food sector.
- Schools become community hubs, equipped with demonstration plots and digital toolkits that support training, learning and engagement with local communities.
- Out-of-school young people, especially young women, are supported through market-relevant bootcamps that build the skills and confidence needed to launch agribusinesses.
Together, these parts create a local ecosystem where young people gain pathways into agribusiness, farmers access practical support, and schools help connect communities to skills, technology and more climate-smart agriculture.
What Makes EKYAN Unique
EKYAN stands out through its combination of:
- Youth-centred agribusiness pathways, combining skills, practical learning, incubation and business creation to help young people build livelihoods in agriculture
- Regenerative agriculture models, promoting climate-smart practices and circular economies
- Locally tailored solutions, drawing on local knowledge, culture and practices to respond to regional challenges
- School-based community hubs, turning schools into platforms for training, demonstration and community engagement
- Technology-enabled services, using digital and AI-assisted tools to strengthen agricultural advice, market access and decision-making
- Strong partnerships, bringing together governments, schools, private sector partners and youth networks to scale impact
Partner with Generation Unlimited
Get involved
We are on a mission to harness the power of technology and skill-building to transform agrifood systems, create new opportunities for youth, and build a more just and sustainable future. Join us by:
- Providing internships, mentoring or coaching to young people
- Supporting youth incubation programmes
- Sponsoring school demo pilots
- Investing in agri-tech start-ups
- Procuring from target youth agripreneurs
- Providing AI-assisted agricultural tools
- Providing access to finance for young agripreneurs/ smallholder farmers
For more details, contact [email protected].
