The management of the Gambia Youth Innovation Network (GYIN) have expressed their special thanks and appreciation to the National Agricultural Land and Water Management Development Project (Nema) for their laudable support in the just concluded rural youth award.
Nema is funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Trade Centre (ITC) through the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) The Gambia; European Union Trust Fund for Africa; and the National Youth Council (NYC).
In a communique sent to this medium, the GYIN management, said: “We will like to extend our special gratitude to the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Youth and Sports for all the support. We would also like to thank the Agricultural Rural Farmer’s Training Centre for the accommodation and hosting the first ever rural youth award 2017,” the communique reads.
The message reads: “We would like to thank all the media houses in The Gambia both print and electronic for the publicity as well as online mediums and bloggers who blogs and tweets about the first ever rural youth award 2017. We also extend our special thanks to Shadow Print for the quality printing.”
The Executive Director GYIN Gambia Ambassador, Mamadou Edrissa Njie said the overall aim of the award was to identify, promote and elevate successful young women and men who, despite all odds, are channeling their creativities, energies and passion to contribute in making a change their communities and societies.
“Rural youth are generally known to be low income earners, however, recognition of successful youth in agribusiness, entrepreneurship and information technology could serve as a model for the majority of others who are yet to enter into start-up venture and open up doors for access to finance,” he said.
“The inclusion of rural youth in decision making and celebrating their success is a priority for GYIN Gambia which believes it is absolutely necessary to recognize the efforts of young rural entrepreneurs especially in agribusiness and entrepreneurship to further motivate them and to ensure poverty is eradicated,” he added.
He said the award which was themed ‘WE NEED YOUNG PEOPLE IN RURAL AREAS: We need them to produce, process and market the food that will feed the world’, is meant to identify, promote and elevate successful young women and men who, despite all odds, are channeling their creativities.
He said GYIN Gambia aims to create and support an enabling environment under which young people in the country can act on their own behalf and on their own terms, and to facilitate exchange of experiences, learning and networking for young entrepreneurs.
Ambassador Njie also gave a rundown of activities of the GYIN Gambia chapter saying it is a nominated member of the project steering committee for NEMA and has collaborated with the project for the implementation of youth related activities such as trainings and small-scale vegetable garden production.
