What is the ARDYIS Project?

Moses Nganwani Tia

Audio conferencing has helped to improve extension services in northern Ghana, and encouraged young people in rural communities to follow a career in agriculture.

The Savannah Young Farmers Network (SYFN) is a youth-led NGO in Ghana that uses ICTs to deliver agricultural and rural advisory services, and promote the active engagement of young people in agriculture. One example of how they do this is their Audio Conferencing for Extension (ACE) project, currently running in selected communities in the Builsa District of northern Ghana.

Competition process

The competition is an attempt to capture and showcase the voices of youth and their contribution to agriculture for development, whether in research, in production or assisting a community to develop a sustainable livelihood.

by Sylvestre Ouédraogo

‘Young people cannot take up the role of intermediary free of charge, nor should they be expected to,’ Sylvestre Ouédraogo, president of the Yam Pukri Association in Burkina Faso.

Young people living in rural parts of ACP countries have the same ambitions as those living in the major cities around the world. They all watch the same television programmes and have similar aspirations: a house, a car, a good job, a smartphone. Many rural youth are drawn to the major urban centres to achieve their goals. For them, village life is too limited. Pressure on the land means it is difficult to have a farm at a young age. They have to wait many years before suitable land becomes available. And even if they do have farming work, they have to find a second job to earn money in the off-season.

Involving youth in agricultural development and decision making processes is key to ensuring sustainable development in Africa, and framing this within the context of ICTs and entrepreneurship provides a valuable dimension to the discourse of agricultural modernization and prosperity. Her Excellency Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of African Union Commission, said this while officiating at a workshop held in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, 29 March 2012, on youth, ICT and entrepreneurship in agriculture, organised by Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Co-operation (CTA) and NEPAD E-Africa Programme.