african rural and agricultural credit association (afraca) presentation_by millicent omukaga
DESCRIPTION
Addressing the needs of rural youth is gathering attention with international development agencies, donors and private companies supporting new initiatives by governmental and non-governmental organizations in many parts of the world and in Africa in particular. Issues surrounding rural youths such as limited access to educational services, dependency on mainly unpaid labour in family farms and working in the informal sector as well as the considerable impact of migration on their livelihoods - especially affecting young women- have been widely recognized as significant. There is overall agreement that if youth issues are not addressed high rates of youth unemployment and under-employment will persist and overall development in African countries could be negatively affected. In this context and in line with its 2011 – 2015 Strategic Framework, The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in partnership with PROCASUR Africa, organized an eight day learning route on Innovative ideas and approaches to integrate Rural Youth in Agriculture. The progress in Kenya between the 11th to the 18th of August 2014. The aim of this Learning Route was to contribute to lesson-sharing and learning at country and regional level in order to build technical capacities within IFAD´s operations and partners in the ESA region on innovative strategies and approaches to engage rural youth in agriculture, increase employment and reduce poverty.TRANSCRIPT
INTEGRATING RURAL YOUTH IN AGRICUTURE
Millicent Omukaga, Kenya.August, 2014
AFRACA- IFAD1. IFAD Development Grant2. Shared Objectives: empowering rural Africa to achieve improved livelihoods and food security3. Outputs:•Innovative technologies and approaches•Awareness, advocacy and policy dialogue •Capacity of member institutions to deliver a range of services in support of poor rural people, and•Lesson learning, knowledge management and dissemination of information on issues related to rural poverty reduction promoted among stakeholders within and across regions.
MEMBERSHIP• Central Banks and CB similar institutions;• Agricultural and Development Banks;• Commercial Banks;• Microfinance Institutions;• Apex Organizations such as Microfinance
Networks and SACCOs• Universities, Training and Research
Institutions;• Insurance organizations; • Line Ministries and Ministerial agencies.
Ordinary/Associate
WHY MFI• Rural outreach• Customized product offering• Social/development impact
CONSTRAINTS• Lack of collateral (indiv loans)-
landlessness and insecure land tenure• Weak financial literacy- weak basis for
proper loan appraisal• Client over-indebtedness- loans to pay off
existing debts• Regulatory landscape- mission drift,
strict prudential regulations• Limited capital for MFI- higher cost of
funds
CONSTRAINTS
• Limited innovative financing (credit and savings)- payments, insurance
• Restrictive risk management practices
INNOVATIONS• Warehouse receipts system• Value chain financing• Private equity funds• Integrated & supervised financing• Credit reference/information sharing• Micro- insurance (crop, livestock)• Guarantee and risk-sharing schemes • ICT and mobile money
POLICY DEV.AND ADVOCACY• Working with Goodwill ambassadors, re-known
rural/agricultural finance experts and institutions
• Visits by AFRACA Board to establish working relationship with select regional (AU & AfDB), sub regional (EAC, SADEC and ECOWAS) and country relevant players
• High-level stakeholder workshops in the Continent.
• Central Banks Forum• Policy briefs/policy position papers, newsletters
and thematic research papers
CAPACITY BUILDING• Action research by AgriFinance specialists aimed
at identifying demand driven innovative models, and best practices in rural/agricultural finance.
• Peer Learning (TCDC) programme, • Specialized MFI Trainings including ToTs• Thematic MF Workshops guided by action based
research on rural and AgriFinance • Tailor-made demand driven experiential learning
programmes for board and executives • Specialized women empowerment exposure
programmes
CAPACITY BUILDINGThe capacity building enables MFI member institutions to:•Carryout research in rural finance•To develop innovative products to meet the needs of the clientele.•Improve the day to day operations of members institutions
INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT• AFRACA News- quarterly newsletter• Workshop proceedings and volumes of
research• AFRACA Website (www.afraca.org)• Workshops and seminars• Subscription into international journals and
library.• Rural and Microfinance brochures,• Annual reports, documentaries• E‐newsletter
CONCLUSION• AFRACA is committed to delivering
demand-driven and value adding services to MFIs and involving them actively in the network.
• AFRACA continues to offer services geared towards improving the professionalism and sustainability of MFIs and through their participation to reinforce the sustainability of AFRACA as a network.
• AFRACA continues to interest both private and public institutions to support its activities through one-off or longer term partnerships.
