{"id":2000124540,"date":"2026-09-02T16:31:51","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:31:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000124540"},"modified":"2026-09-02T16:31:52","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T14:31:52","slug":"pm-nsengiyumva-urges-african-youth-to-see-agriculture-as-an-opportunity-not-a-last-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/pm-nsengiyumva-urges-african-youth-to-see-agriculture-as-an-opportunity-not-a-last-resort\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Nsengiyumva urges African youth to see agriculture as an opportunity, not a last resort"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nsengiyumva made the call on Wednesday, September 2, while opening the 2026 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali, where more than 5,000 stakeholders from over 50 countries are discussing investment in Africa\u2019s food systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur youth should start seeing agriculture not as a sector of last resort, but as a modern and dynamic sector full of opportunities,\u201d Nsengiyumva said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He highlighted that opportunities extend beyond farming to areas such as irrigation, energy, mechanisation, digital services, insurance, processing and retail, urging the private sector to invest across the food value chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe task before us is to build credible partnerships that connect capital to these opportunities,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nsengiyumva made the call on Wednesday, September 2, while opening the 2026 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nsengiyumva also called for investments that ensure smallholder farmers, women and young people benefit from the growth of Africa\u2019s food economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Africa has abundant land and water resources, sunshine and a young population, but continues to face food insecurity. Nsengiyumva said about 309 million Africans were affected by hunger in 2025, while about 57 percent experienced moderate or severe food insecurity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis contrast defines our task. We need to turn potential into productivity and we need to turn productivity into prosperity for all Africans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call for greater investment was reinforced by new financing initiatives announced at the forum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. G\u00e9rardine Mukeshimana, Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said IFAD and partners are launching a $200 million blended finance facility to expand climate adaptation financing for farmers in Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dr. G\u00e9rardine Mukeshimana, Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), addresses delegates at the Kigali Convention Centre.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

IFAD is also launching a $10 million facility to support the growth of small agribusinesses, while it will partner with Bank of Kigali on a $21 million blended finance facility for farmers\u2019 organisations later this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mukeshimana said public financing alone cannot deliver the transformation Africa needs and should instead be used to reduce risks and unlock private capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She cited IFAD evidence showing that projects involving private-sector participation generate income gains of more than 64 percent, compared with projects without private-sector participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Chair of the Africa Food Systems Forum Partners Group and Board Chairperson of AGRA, follows proceedings during the 2026 Africa Food Systems Forum in Kigali.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From commitments to action<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nsengiyumva said Africa must also improve the way agricultural investments are planned and executed, calling for credible, investable projects backed by clear priorities, realistic financing, strong institutions and measurable targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that investments should strengthen entire food systems rather than isolated parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA productive farm cannot thrive without roads, energy, irrigation, storage, finance, logistics, processing and reliable markets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister also urged African countries to scale successful agricultural innovations instead of leaving them as small pilot projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The call was echoed by African Union Commissioner for Agriculture Moses Vilakati, who said Africa’s challenge is no longer knowing what needs to be done, but having the political will, investment, partnerships and accountability to implement existing commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vilakati urged Africa to reduce its dependence on food imports and use local production to create jobs and business opportunities for young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the continent needs \u201ca decade of implementation,\u201d arguing that the success of the Africa Food Systems Forum should ultimately be measured by investments mobilised, jobs created and improvements in the lives of farmers and other food-system actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 AFS Forum marks 20 years of the platform and is being held under the theme \u201cInvesting in Africa\u2019s Agri-Food Systems: Nourishing Nations, Growing Jobs, Building Resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Prime Minister Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva officially opened the 2026 Africa Food Systems Forum (AFSF) in Kigali on Wednesday, September 2.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
More than 5,000 stakeholders from over 50 countries have gathered in Kigali to discuss investment in Africa\u2019s food systems.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva has urged African youth to rethink agriculture, saying the sector should be viewed as a modern source of jobs, entrepreneurship and prosperity rather than a sector of last resort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000124549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[151,69],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000124540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-editors-choice","tag-homehighlights","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":2000122456,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/08\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-14-at-11.58.47-AM.jpeg","title":"WhatsApp Image 2026-08-14 at 11.58.47 AM","mime_type":"image\/jpeg"},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000124549,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-02-at-12.25.40-PM.jpeg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":1600,"height":1066,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-02-at-12.25.40-PM.jpeg","width":1600,"height":1066},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-02-at-12.25.40-PM.jpeg","width":1600,"height":1066},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-02-at-12.25.40-PM.jpeg","width":1600,"height":1066},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-02-at-12.25.40-PM.jpeg","width":1600,"height":1066},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/09\/WhatsApp-Image-2026-09-02-at-12.25.40-PM.jpeg","width":1600,"height":1066}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000124540","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000124540"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000124540\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000124553,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000124540\/revisions\/2000124553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000124549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000124540"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000124540"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000124540"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000124540"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000124540"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}