The feeling of betrayal runs high: young Kenyans now openly lament they were used and dumped by politicians after lofty promises of jobs in a robust economy. As distrust of the executive and legislature sets in, hopes of the lofty promises by the power wielders have dissipated as the youth become increasingly willing to take their destiny into own hands instead of waiting for manna from what they regards as an indifferent executive and legislature.

During the anti-tax protests last year, there was unanimity among the youth – referred to as Gen-Z or Young Generation – that the country’s wobbly economy was s an outcome of a thieving executive and a compliant parliament.

Consequently, a rising number of jobless and frustrated university graduates have decided to depart from their fields of professional specialisation and delving into agriculture, which still employs more than 65 per cent of Kenya’s population nearly 50 million people.

The paradigm shift in the labour market is already evident in Murang’a County in central Kenya, where agriculture is now embraced by unemployed university graduates as a viable source of income. One of them, a young and thriving agripreneur Loise Kabuti spends time urging her generation to embrace agribusiness as a job rather than wait for white collar jobs.

According to the Mkulima Mdogo Seedlings proprietor, Kabuti, agribusiness is unappreciated and underutilised as a result the overemphasis placed on white collar jobs by the education system and society. The mentality, she explains, is the cause of the armies of unemployed Kenyans who still look up to the government to co-opt them into the civil service. The young businesswoman now says youths should create employment for themselves and others, besides ensuring the country’s food security.

Kabuti, who is in her late twenties, studied electrical engineering at university while her husband, Lamech Victorious specialised in civil engineering. However, the two did not shy away from soiling their hands and founded an award winning agro-based company known for producing quality fruits, vegetable, herbs and tree seedlings. Victorious is the farm manager while the Kabuti ormer is the firm’s chief executive.

“After graduating from university, we decided to give farming a try albeit without any skills, but the expertise that we have gained over the years has enabled us to transition to soil-less media propagation, unlike the traditional nursery we started with in 2016,” says Kabuti.

The skills they inherited from their grandfather who was also a farmer motivated them to start the agribusiness, which is gradually evolving into  an empire of sorts that currently employs over 60 young men and women in different capacities to produce more than 200,000 seedlings per week using trays and soil-less media (coco peat) in greenhouses. The demand for their well hardened quality seedlings has been on a rapid rise.

The business rakes in upwards of Ksh300,000 ($2,316) per month according to Kabuti. The earnings compare well with what most senior civil servants and the private sector salary scales in Kenya.

The young agri-preneur wants the youth to be more flexible and take up available opportunities instead of being rigid in their career choices. She notes that investing in farming in whatever capacity eventually pays off with patience and willingness to learn.

“Learning never ends. Research and the expertise of qualified people in areas of interest like agronomists has given our farm a niche in seedlings production and that is why we have broad clientele from all over the country and beyond,” she adds.

“Make use of technology, be patient and do not despise small beginnings,” says Kabuti.

She appeals on the youth to shun crime and substance abuse, instead use that energy productively.

During a tour of the farm on the outskirts of Kenol town, Murang’a County, we found a group of young people who had gone to purchase seedlings and also learn how to manage them in order to get a return on investment.

We spoke to one of them, Allan Mwangi, a young agripreneur from neighbouring Kirinyaga County.

“I graduated from university and decided to venture into tomato farming as I looked for a job in animal husbandry, which I studied at university but after three years on, I developed a passion for farming and this is now my fulltime job,” he says.

Mwangi now employs three people on his farm and says he is able to cater for overheads and take care of his family. On average, he earns Ksh150, 000 ($1,158) per month.

The young agripreneurs, however, lament the high cost of farm inputs and want the government to subsidise them.

“The prices of pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers are high and if we can only access them if they are subsidised. We will be able to reap more from farming while also encouraging more young people to venture in,” points out Mercy Mwangi, another young farmer from Kiambu County.

They have also urged the government to provide the services of agricultural extension officers so as to help them develop more programmes to enable us to become self-reliant as well as teach farmers modern ways of improving soil quality and new farming methods complaining that they are forced to rely on private entities who are only available at a fee.

• A Tell / KNA report / By Florence Kinyua