An agriculturist wants the Tanzanian government to articulate a new vision of agriculture that attracts youth and reverses the trend that has them moving away from rural areas to cities for work, according to a Guardian report in IPPMedia.

Incentives should encourage African youth to engage in farming as a way to solve unemployment, reduce poverty and create wealth, said Omari Mwaimu, coordinator of the Amsha Institute of Rural Entrepreneurs East Africa.

The Arusha-based Amsha Institute brings together peasant farmers with “urban graduate farmers” in an effort to move away from subsistence farming towards commercial farming.

Mwaimu spoke at the International Symposium and Exhibition on Agricultural Development in East Africa Community in Kampala.

Conditions are harsh in rural areas, the report said. Agriculture has changed significantly and youth should be educated on modern farming methods and technology. “My focus here is to help youth, especially in rural areas, shift from traditional farming system to commercial farming,” Mwaimu said.

Changing perceptions about agriculture is key to engaging youth in agribusiness, he said. “Agriculture, farming in particular, is portrayed as a low-income, high-risk career among the youth.”

In other countries farmers are often educated, business-savvy entrepreneurs who have extensive training and knowledge, Mwaimu said.

He urged Tanzania to set up a Youth Advisory Committee composed of youth who are engaged in agriculture to act as role models.

Access to affordable credit is key in attracting youth to agriculture but the younger population has fewer opportunities to get credit.

“Access is often tied to availability of collateral, which is usually land that the young people do not have. It’s important that appropriate affordable financial packages are put in place by financial institutions involved in agricultural lending,” he said.

The Amsha group worked with rural farmers in Tanzania’s Kilwa District to become commercial farmers – an idea most perceived as impossible because of the tradition and belief that rural people will never become business people in its broader sense, according to the report.

Amsha has launched four agribusiness services centers near farming villages to promote agribusiness activities.

The model has the potential to transform subsistence agriculture into commercial farming with the introduction of new technologies from research institutes, the report said.

Every Amsha member is required to have both subsistence and commercial farm plots.