Closing Remarks at International Youth Day Dialogue

• Innovators and Entrepreneurs
• The panelists
• And everybody joining us online

On behalf of the United Nations system in Uganda, I am pleased to join a distinguished community of young entrepreneurs and innovators as we commemorate the International Youth Day. I am indeed delighted to see that young people are taking centre stage in contributing to the innovation infrastructure of this country.

I would like to appreciate Startup Uganda, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund for working together to strengthen the startup support ecosystem in Uganda. Indeed, bringing together all these innovations and entrepreneurial support organizations is long overdue and is clearly enabling the ecosystem to move in the right direction.

The theme on “Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship as a lever to Transform Uganda’s Food Systems” could not be more timely. As COVID-19 continues to ravage economies, we are looking to innovation to accelerate transformation in the food and agriculture sector and build its resilience.

I therefore commend the panel for an incredibly enlightening conversation around innovation within the agricultural space especially in relation to food systems. Food systems include not only the basic elements of how we get food from farms to the table, but also all of the processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population and the methods in which we expand these processes to fully benefit the farmer on the ground and the country as a whole.

This conversation has indeed propelled us to critically examine what our food export systems currently look like, given that Uganda is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of soil fertility, climate and other farming conducive factors. The discussion has contributed to the analysis of agricultural opportunities here in Uganda.

Three quarters of Uganda’s population (72 percent) obtain their livelihood from agriculture. It is the cornerstone of the country’s economy. Sixty-three (63) percent of those three quarters are youth are mainly smallholder farmers living in rural communities. Despite such a large share of the population being involved in agriculture, it only contributes 24 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. What is behind this issue of low productivity? One of the biggest challenges here is the issue of subsistence farming as opposed to commercial farming. Roughly, 80 percent of the country’s agricultural output and produce is from smallholder farmers that are not prepared to contribute to and benefit from modern and commercial agricultural practices. There are many factors that contribute to this, including the challenge of a ‘small-scale’ mindset where farmers are content with earning just enough to take home and cater to their daily family needs. Other challenges include low levels of technology adoption, lack of linkages to and access to markets, assets, and financial services. I am glad the conversation has touched upon a couple of these issues and highlighted potential solutions.

A recently published World Bank report on the subject, highlighted the fact that the agricultural sector of a country should contribute to its economy well beyond the production in the sector and tap into related spaces such as processing, manufacturing and affiliated services. In Uganda, however, this is not the case as the agri-food system space remains predominantly un-exploited despite the enormous opportunities it presents for the country. Conversations such as these serve to ensure better leverage of our food systems to correct this imbalance.

Another emphasis of today’s conversation has been on the need to catalyse job creation through youth-led entrepreneurship. In a country like Uganda with a large youth population, it rings particularly true. Indeed, the question that was clear throughout the discussion was about how development partners, the government and even entrepreneurs themselves, are working together to foster a conducive environment for  entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for the youth. I hope that Startup Uganda continues to create spaces where we can foster  growth in scaled entrepreneurship and encourage innovation efforts.

The task ahead of us might seem daunting but is achievable. Transforming Uganda’s food systems for the better is possible. There is a lot of opportunity for entrepreneurs and innovators to change the status quo as manifested by some of the entrepreneurs that participated in today’s conversation; Teddy Ruge of Raintree Farms; Gudula Naiga Basaza of Gudie Leisure Farms;  and Sandie Ejang of Asali Wa Moyo Honey. There is room at each stage of the agricultural value chain for youth entrepreneurs to deploy innovation and a business mindset to transform the sector.

How are we addressing the gender gap especially within the agricultural space? It is visible in the lower numbers of female entrepreneurs in firm start-up and business ownership. Yet, women entrepreneurs make an important contribution to economic development, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Women are more likely than men to share their gains in education, health, and microfinance with family members and the community at large. I am optimistic that such spaces will continue to find practical ways to bridge that gap.

I cannot conclude my remarks without emphasizing the fundamental issue of inclusive growth, which was discussed during the conversation. Inclusive Growth occurs when economic prosperity is long-term, sustainable, and reaches a broad spectrum of a population. Economic growth is viewed as successful when it is diversified across sectors, inclusive of various groups in the labour force, attributable to productive employment and led by the market.

I will end on this note, Uganda’s agricultural sector shows an incredible amount of promise, in which entrepreneurs, government, and development partners have an important role to play to hone that potential and bring it to fruition.

I thank you very much.