Unemployed, Kenyan graduates turn to high-tech agriculture

Kericho, Kenya – Saturday mornings for Chepkorir Rotich, a farmer in Kiboito village, Kericho County, western Kenya, often begin before sunrise. By then, she has milked the cows and sold the milk, fed the chickens, and returned to harvest vegetables to fill received orders. Her work is repetitive each day, and she does it with passion.

Over a decade ago, when the 33-year-old mother of two left university, she was excited and ready to enter the formal job market for full-time employment. “I thought I would be hired as a business administrator, but after a long job search, I only got temporary contracts at three different companies,” she shared. “The highest-paying company gave me about $200 a month. Living in Nairobi, that amount didn't go far.”

The shortage of office jobs has left young Kenyans like Rotich without employment, forcing them to be creative to survive and earn a living. In the process, many young people are turning to agriculture and other sectors, using digital and vocational skills to gain a competitive edge.

Rotich uses social media to market products and learn modern farming practices. Social media helps her share knowledge with the young people who make up the majority of her nearly 50,000 followers. She also runs a YouTube channel to share farming knowledge.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the average age of African farmers is 60, but Rotich disagrees. She believes that defining farmers by age has discouraged many young people from agriculture instead of viewing it as a future livelihood. “I think the reason they say that is due to access to farmland, which is mostly held by older people,” she told Al Jazeera. “In my case, I started planting in the compound of my rented house, and at the end of each month, my landlord owed me money after deducting the rent because I sold milk and vegetables to him. So, it's all about passion and perseverance among the youth.”

Kiringai Kamau, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi and an expert in agricultural economics, agribusiness, and food systems, believes young people should consider agriculture as formal employment because they are the ones who can understand and deploy technology effectively. He said Murang'a University has established a learning center for devolution, agroecology, and AI to train youth to enter agriculture, connecting with agricultural data systems.

Derrick Ngigi, technical lead at GODAN, stated that while youth are pursuing agriculture, technology also plays a role in providing opportunities. “For instance, content creation in agriculture offers many opportunities, like creating content on modern farming methods, generating revenue for young people.”

About 5 km from Kiboito village, in Kaptoroi village, Geoffrey Kiprop is cleaning the cowshed after feeding the cattle early in the morning. The 32-year-old earned a bachelor's degree in information technology in 2017 but has never had a formal job. Like Rotich, Kiprop survives on temporary contracts such as system development and maintenance for schools. He said the highest-paying contract was 15,000 Kenyan shillings ($116). But now, he earns about 7,000 Kenyan shillings ($54) per day from farming. Kiprop practices mixed farming, raising dairy cows, chickens for eggs and meat, and growing tea, coffee, bell peppers, cabbage, and beans. He uses modern technology for cultivation and leverages his IT knowledge to maximize profits.

One of the tools he uses is the Plantix app, which detects plant diseases and nutrient deficiencies using AI after he takes a photo of the plant and uploads it. The app also provides weather forecasts and best farming practices suited to current weather conditions. “My favorite tool is Virtual Agronomist. This is an AI-powered platform; I use Google Maps to record field coordinates and specify the crop I am growing,” Kiprop explained. “In return, Virtual Agronomist tells me the cultivated land area and creates a nutrition plan by soil sampling, guiding me on what nutrients the soil lacks and the exact amounts to add.” For his cattle, Kiprop also uses AI tools to manage health and productivity, along with the Digicow app that tracks daily activities on the dairy farm, recording milk sales, inputs like feed, and health measures, allowing the farmer to know if they are making a profit.

Both Rotich and Kiprop agree that agriculture comes with its own challenges, and one must have deep passion and perseverance to achieve results. “Perseverance is key,” Rotich said. “That's what many young people lack, and they give up too early before breaking even and realizing profits. One must do it over and over again to finally succeed and learn from previous mistakes.”