About
Already in its third edition of the “Youth AgriChampions – make young African farmers be heard” on climate adaptation in agriculture. The initiative brings together youth grassroot voices from the world of smallholder farming and agricultural entrepreneurship in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia, to share their on-the-ground experience with adapting their practices to climate change. During the workshops, the BKMC Youth AgriChampions will develop a youth demand paper to be launched and elevated in high-level political fora, such as COP29.
In the past years, selected Youth AgriChampions joined the BKMC delegation on the ground at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh and COP28 in Dubai to launch the Youth AgriChampions Demand Paper and represent farmers’ voices around the world.
This workshop series allows for innovative young minds from the grassroots world of smallholder agriculture to interact and express their wishes for solutions and support about the challenges they are facing with agricultural adaptation to climate change in their respective countries. Throughout three workshops, the Youth AgriChampions will discuss and develop a set of demands which will be collated in a paper and presented to the 8th Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, who will then use it in his advocacy work. This year’s thematic focus of the Youth AgriChampions Demand Paper will be on locally-led adaptation for smallholder farming.
During the first two workshops, input will be given by two experts in smallholder agriculture and locally-led adaptation, inspiring the Youth AgriChampions for the development of their demands. These demands will also be used to advocate on behalf of smallholder farmers and smallholder agriculture stakeholders at COP29 to help support agricultural adaptation efforts. Furthermore, five best practice examples of the Youth AgriChampions´current work on adapting to climate change will also be promoted.
The workshop series is hosted and created by the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, under the framework of the Elevating Agricultural Adaptation program.
Youth AgriChampions 2024
Highlights
“Youth AgriChampions – make young African farmers be Heard” is a series of 3 Peer2Peer webinars that took place in the Summer of 2022. This webinar series brought together grassroots voices from the world of smallholder farming and agricultural entrepreneurship in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia, to share their on-the-ground experience with adapting their practices to climate change. Based on this, a demand paper was developed by the Youth Agri Champions and presented to key ministers during bilateral meetings as well as public events at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, 2022.
Our Alumni
Aaron Nanok – Kenya
Annat Shittu – Nigeria
Esther Kamasa – Kenya
Everlyne Ngugi – Kenya
Felix Atamba – Kenya
Felix Tetteh – Ghana
Halima Sadiya Ahmad – Nigeria
Venacious Tembo – Zambia
Opeyemi Elujulo – Nigeria
Helene Uzayisenga – Rwanda
Mohammed Hafiz Musah – Ghana
Irene Kagera – Kenya
Lubona Annie Mwale Chifita – Zambia
Segun Adegoke – Nigeria
Quinter Chemutai – Kenya
Suleiman Dawud – Nigeria
Mubanga Sampa – Zambia
Caroline Catherine Wanjiru Moko – Kenya
Azeez Akanni Salawu – Nigeria
Sandra Mayala Kantarama – Rwanda
Mercy Philips – Kenya
Baliqees Salaudeen – Nigeria
Eliud Rugut – Kenya
Richard Kachungu – Zambia
Lucy Wangari – Kenya
Jean Claude Niyomugabo – Rwanda
Tabitha Kabura Gichiru – Kenya
Usman Kibiya – Nigeria
Josiane Irakarama – Rwanda
Felix Kiprono – Kenya
Ibrahim Emiola Eniola – Nigeria
Melvin Muna – Kenya
Workshop 1
The Youth AgriChampions Workshop Series kicked off on July 27th, with 17 smallholder farmers and agripreneurs from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia. Over the course of three workshops, the Youth AgriChampions will develop a set of demands on capacity building in climate adaptation in agriculture. BKMC’s Co-Chair – former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and the BKMC team will then present these demands at COP28 and in their global advocacy work to promote the climate adaptation needs of smallholder farmers.
Workshop 2
Building on the conclusions of the first workshop, the Youth AgriChampions discussed concrete solutions support and accelerate capacity building for and with smallholder famers to adapt to the climate crisis. The session was opened by Elizabeth Nsimadala, President of the East Africa Farmers Federation and Director of Women Affairs at the PanAfrican Farmers Organization who shared her unique experience as an advocate for smallholder farmers but also as a young farmer herself, coping with challenges posed by climate change.
Workshop 3
The efforts of the Youth AgriChampions were recognized and celebrated in the closing ceremony of the Youth AgriChampions Peer2Peer Workshop Series last week. Coming together for the last time in this series, the participants presented their conclusions and demands, reflected on the past month of work and on how the workshop series has provided them with new tools to continue addressing climate change.
Workshop 1
The Youth Agri Champions Webinar Series kicked off on July 28th, with 16 smallholder farmers and agripreneurs from Kenya, Nigera, Rwanda, and Zambia. After a presentation from the Elevating Agricultural Adaption Program Manager, Angela Reithuber, on the BKMC’s work on supporting smallholder farmers in agricultural adaptation to climate change, the Youth Agri Champions were joined by, Elizabeth Nsimadala, the Director of Women Affairs at the Pan-African Farmers Organization and the President of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation.
Workshop 2
The second workshop gave the Youth Agri Champions a chance to consolidate their ideas and demands. In between the first and the second workshop, the Youth Agri Champions continued to work virtually in their working groups, social risk management, funding/finance, and training/capacity building, where they built upon the ideas that came up in Workshop 1. our expert guest, Denis Kabiito, the CEO and Founder of the Young Farmers’ Federation of Uganda, shared his knowledge and experience with the participants.
Workshop 3
Coming together for the last time, opening the workshop was the BKMC’s Co-chair, Dr. Heinz Fischer, who praised the Youth Agri Champions for their ‘ambition, dedication, and enthusiasm for fighting climate change. After weeks of learning from each other’s diverse experiences and hard work in building up their demands, the final demand paper from the Youth Agri-Champions is now ready to help Ban Ki-moon and the BKMC team advocate for agricultural adaptation to climate change at COP27 and beyond.
