BY LINDELWA MYENI
MBABANE — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is training young people in Eswatini in agricultural and agribusiness skills through its Graduate-in-Training Programme to create employment and self-employment opportunities, reduce rural poverty and strengthen food security as the country grapples with 56% youth unemployment.
The programme forms part of FAO Eswatini’s support to the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini in reducing rural poverty by connecting young people with farms and agri-industries where they can gain practical experience and develop skills for employment or establishing their own agricultural enterprises.
Howard Mbuyisa, Assistant FAO Representative (Programme), said youth empowerment in agribusiness is one of the key interventions under FAO’s Country Programming Framework for 2026–2030, which is currently being endorsed.
“As part of that work, we have an ongoing process to endorse our Country Programming Framework for 2026–2030. One of the key interventions there is to empower youth in agribusiness equipping them with innovative skills on how to make the most of the agriculture and food systems sector,” Mbuyisa said.
The programme provides young people with production skills while attaching them to farms and agricultural industries to gain hands-on experience.
Mbuyisa said these opportunities could help young people become attractive to agricultural employers while also giving them the skills to establish their own businesses.
“We train them in production skills, and we will continue attaching them to farms and agri-industries so they can gain valuable skills that will allow them to access employment opportunities or build their own agricultural enterprises,” Mbuyisa said.
The initiative also seeks to expose young people to agriculture at an early age through job-shadowing opportunities.
Mbuyisa said a high school girl was currently undertaking a week-long job-shadowing placement in FAO’s communications section, where she is learning about the organisation’s work and agricultural programmes.
“We hope she will gain skills, get to know what FAO is doing, and understand our agricultural programmes and we hope that in the future she will be one of our ambassadors who will encourage other youths to engage in agriculture,” Mbuyisa said.
FAO plans to continue attaching young people to farms and agricultural industries to provide practical experience that can support employment and enterprise development.
Mbuyisa said youth unemployment remained one of the major challenges facing the country, noting that 56% of Eswatini’s youth are unemployed.
Through its youth-focused programmes, FAO aims to help young people use agriculture as a pathway to employment and self-employment while supporting rural communities to move from subsistence farming towards commercial agricultural enterprises.
The initiative is also expected to contribute to food security by strengthening the skills and participation of young people in Eswatini’s agriculture and food systems sector.
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(Courtesy Pic)
