ProAgro Project Creates 800 Youth Jobs, Says ILO
The ILO-coordinated project, funded by the International Fund for Agriculture Development and the Norwegian Agency for Development, was launched in 2022.
SALIMA, Malawi— The ProAgro Youth Project has created 800 jobs for young people in Malawi's agriculture sector, the International Labor Organization said Friday, writes Lewis Msasa.
The project aims to empower youths through wage and self-employment opportunities, according to ILO National Programme Coordinator Patrick Makondesa.
"To date through this project over 800 youths out of the targeted 1,500 have access to jobs with 26 percent of them in wage employment," Makondesa said.
"These results provide hope for Malawi that with proper planning and mechanisms put in place youths in the country can be empowered through access employment- be it wage or self-employment."
Makondesa spoke at the end of a two-day stakeholder review workshop for the ProAgro Youth Project in Salima.
The Ministry of Labour's Director of Planning, Patricia Zimpita, called for more collaboration among stakeholders.
"I am glad to note that the project has engaged a number of key stakeholders including employers and workers organizations," Zimpita said.
"My ministry has been actively involved in the industry engagement assessment. The findings will add value to youth placement in selected companies with support from Employers Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAM) and Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU)."
ILO Africa Region Office ProAgro Youth Project Technical Officer Gregoire Yameogo said he was impressed with the project's progress but more needs to be done to ensure sustainability.
"We need to engage more youth agribusiness hubs and ensure adherence to quality apprenticeship programmes as stipulated in ILO Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation 208," Yameogo said.
"We should also expedite review of agriculture curriculum in collaboration with Technical Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TEVETA)."
The project promotes entrepreneurship skills and job opportunities through school-to-work transition programs, according to ECAM Executive Director George Khakhi.
"But there has to be collaboration and good working relationship between training institutions and industry so that there is no skills mismatch," Khakhi said.
MCTU Secretary General Madalitso Njolomole, whose organization is part of the project's advisory committee, called for knowledge sharing and social dialogue.
The ILO-coordinated project, funded by the International Fund for Agriculture Development and the Norwegian Agency for Development, was launched in 2022.