Start-up capital and basic needs for agriculture such as land are the main factors preventing many youths from getting into agriculture.

It’s in this light that Green Cameroon, a civil society organization in Buea has sought to encourage youths in the area to use the rich agricultural potentials in the area through their “Hope from the Farm” program.

To demonstrate their zeal to encourage youths into agriculture, the civil society organization on last 20th March gave some assistance in the form of planting material and basic farm tools in first phase of the project to encourage youths get into agriculture. These youths are expected to give back what they received to other interested youths in their communities after harvesting.

According to the Executive Director of Green Cameroon, Masango Sone, if the evaluation of the first phase is successful, there are prospects of more funding from their foreign partners.

“We started with ten youths, after one year, the beneficiaries will give back what they received to other youths in their communities; we are just doing our own share of the fight against unemployment among youths as we expect other youths to copy the example of the successful youths who benefited from the project by going into agriculture”, Masango Sone told TFV after handing over the planting material and some start-up farm tools.

Each of the beneficiaries had plantain suckers, yam setts or cassava cuttings according to their interest. They had initial start up tools like machetes, shovel, axes, boots, wheelbarrows and spraying cans.

Speaking to TFV, some of the beneficiaries appreciated the effort of Green Cameroon but regretted that the quantity wasn’t much. They hoped that the second phase will be funded and there will be enough material for them or other beneficiaries to increase their farm sizes.