The Rural Youth Employment Support (R -YES) project has embarked on tackling youth unemployment in Rwanda through making agribusiness the gateway for youth jobs.
According to the Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2020 by the National Institute of Statistic of Rwanda, overall unemployment rate among Rwandans stood at 17.9 per cent, and joblessness was higher among young people (22.4) than among adults (14.1 percent) in 2020.
The 5-year project (June 2020 – December 2024) is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to create employment opportunities for youth in agribusiness. R-YES targets seven agribusiness value chains with potential to attract and provide decent employment (self and wage) to youth in agribusiness.
Among those value chains, there is Dairy, Piggery, Potatoes, Maize, Rice, Poultry, Vegetables (Tomatoes, Onions, Cabbage, Carrots, Chilli, Green pepper, and French beans).
Andrew Gashayija, R-YES Project Team Leader said that this project, which is considered a pilot, will invest slightly over Rwf2 billion, and its success will inform future extended initiatives by IFAD and other development partners in Rwanda and other countries in Africa and beyond.
