Home News Project News Launching the SOFIA Project, 10-12 April 2013, Swaziland
Tuesday, 09 April 2013 08:30

Launching the SOFIA Project, 10-12 April 2013, Swaziland

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ICTs have proved to be effective tools in stimulating young people’s interest in agriculture. The added value of these technologies for youth in agriculture lies at least at three levels: ICTs offer new marketing tools to enhance more than in the past (youth-led) agricultural businesses; ICTs help promote agricultural interest and opportunities for youth, and finally, they bring about new jobs linked to agricultural software and ICT-based agribusinesses (mobile applications (mAgri), market information systems, etc).

Despite these opportunities, there are several challenges being faced by youth in Southern Africa, who are engaged in agriculture and ICTs: lack of capacity and policy support that would enable them to take advantage of the opportunities that ICTs offer, lack of documentation and promotion of youth’s innovations and best-practices, lack of policy provisions related to youth’s involvement in agriculture as well as youth in ICT, aiming at improving their livelihoods in urban and rural areas.

The
SOFIA (Strengthening Rural youth employment Opportunities in ICTs and Agriculture in Southern Africa) Project will adopt an integrated approach that addresses both policy issues and capacity building activities, especially in Malawi, Swaziland and Zambia.

The project aims at
strengthening rural youth employment opportunities in agriculture and ICTs in Southern Africa. It will support in particular Youth training centres and young farmer groups, to make more effective use of ICTs to enhance employment and business opportunities.

From 10-12 April 2013 the SOFIA Regional Stakeholders and Launch Workshop will take place in Swaziland. 30 participants are expected to attend from Malawi, Swaziland and Zambia. The Prime Minister of Swaziland, Hon. Barnabas S. Dlamini, will be present to launch the SOFIA project, along with Alice Peslin representing the EU delegation for Swaziland.

The SOFIA project is supported by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), through its ARDYIS project.

For further information on the SOFIA project, please download the brochure in the link below:


**SOFIA Project Brochure**

Last modified on Friday, 12 April 2013 00:44
 

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ICT and Youth in Agriculture in Africa (Report)