Promoting Agrepreneurship

Kathmandu, March 9, 2016: We all know the story of a youth who applies for work in a foreign country because good education is not affordable and there are less employment opportunities. So he/she has to leave to earn some money and make his/her ends meet. Then how many of us have heard this story of a youth who founded an organization to promote agriculture among youth so as to create more employment opportunities and improve the state of agriculture in the country? This story is of Sanjay Kafle, founder and vice president of Youth For Agri Welfare, a youth organization that promotes agriculture among youths and farmers.

Currently an undergraduate agriculture student, he has proposed his project “Youth Agriculture Garden” to the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), the world’s agricultural research for development community working together to transform and strengthen agri-food research and innovation systems. His project is to create self-employment opportunities in the rural part of Nepal for unprivileged youth. So his motive with this project is to estimate the possibilities of initiating a youth led agricultural enterprise, hopefully to encourage other young people who are slogging their important times in gulf nation and the youths who are contributing their valuable times in the Agri-entrepreneurship at local level.

He says, “My initiation will be a role model village; where I can showcase other youth especially who are willing to go into gulf nations about our potential.”

Kafle conducted research in Beulibas VDC ward: – 9, a rural village of western Nepal and found out that among the 38 youths from 23 households, 1 is in the United States, 4 are in the Europe, 30 are in the Gulf nations and only 3 of them are self-employed in the village itself.
“I decided to chip in my contribution and invited all the youths, including their parents who were currently at village for a meeting. The agenda of the meeting was how we can start to contribute for agricultural enhancement from our community level. Luckily, I was joined by 5 youths who were in the village for their vacation and they were joined my some more.
‘We have established a farm name YUVA KIRSI BAGAICHA that means Youth Agriculture Garden. We have collected $50 (5000 Nepalese rupees) from each youth and decided to cultivate seasonal crops. We have already prepared seedlings and fixed our land to lease for raising those crops and also have started mushroom farming.” Kafle talks about his workings on this project till now.
He further describes his project through a video of it and a budgetary breakdown. “The success of our program is to be self-reliant from our own product after the funding of our project is over. For this, the revenue collected from the vegetables we produce can be of great value. Also the learning potential and enthusiasm which some of our villagers are showing right now is a part of our success. For the continuation of our project after our fund is over, the goods we produce would be sufficient. As we have estimated the cost of production and the cost which the villages are paying right now for vegetables coming from outside, our cost seems way cheaper for consumers. Reducing the chain of syndicates, it would ultimately add the value to the farm’s sustainability.”
“I want my country to be developed and to create a platform for my fellow citizens through farming. It is one of the only professions that are the best for the country’s development. If we can invest in a farm, first it will help in self-sustainability. It not only empowers the individual but also helps sustain the village’s economy by reducing the imports of Agri-based products.”

To implement his innovation he is competing with many Agri-entrepreneurs from all over the world. And if he gets among top 10 through your votes i.e. by the number of comments and like in his blog post he will get to instigate his project further.  You can support his project by going to http://blog.gfar.net/2016/02/28/yap-proposal-56-youth-agriculture-garden-sanjay-kafle-nepal/#comment-11637 and posting your comments and liking his blog post or spreading the post through social media channels, using the hashtag: #GCARD3.

At present, Sanjay Kafle is the vice president of Youth for Agri Welfare. Besides this, he is also among eleven board member of lamjung Red cross youth network and he has also been involved in supplying emergency relief supplies, reconstruction of shelters and coordinating with national as well as international volunteers who were also volunteering for Donation for Nepal campaign on Facebook.

You can also follow him on his blog http://www.sanjaykafle.com/