Shs3b project to create youth employment

Police operations commander Aaron Baguma (R) arrests a member of the National Association of the Unemployed, Mr Simon Wanyera, in Kampala in September. Photo by Abubaker Lubowa

What you need to know:

The support aims at increasing food security and reducing poverty in rural areas

KAMPALA

The Ministry of Agriculture together with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have launched a Shs2.8 billion project to create employment for youth in rural areas and improve nutrition.
According to a report released by Action Aid last year, 62 per cent of Ugandan youth are jobless while the Uganda Health Demographic Survey 2011 shows that 33 per cent of children in Uganda are stunted due to poor diet.
“By generating attractive and decent jobs for the rural young women and men within the agriculture sector, we not only will have significantly contributed to increased food security and livelihood resilience but will have also reduced rural poverty,” the FAO country representative, Mr Alhaji Jallow, said during the launch of the project in Kampala on Monday.

“We cannot go wrong by investing in this big young and energetic population and the best time to do this is now,” Mr Jallow added.
The three-year project is funded through the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund (ASTP), under the slogan “Africa for Africans”.
E. Africa project
East Africa has received funds worth $4 million under the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund Project. Beneficiaries include Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya and Uganda.
In Kenya and Uganda, the programme will focus on Aquaculture intensive production and marketing while the focus in Rwanda and Burundi will be on poultry value chain, according to the project.