Young people are at the heart of transforming Kenya’s agriculture sector. By equipping the youth with modern skills, practical training, and exposure to emerging opportunities in agribusiness, the Government of Kenya is building a new generation of innovative farmers and agripreneurs who will drive food security, productivity, and economic growth.
The Secretary Administration at the State Department for Agriculture, Mr. Harun Khator, officially opened the 4th Cohort of the Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) Programme in Horticulture Production at the Kenya School of Agriculture (KSA), Nyeri Campus.
The CBET programme is one of the key initiatives empowering youth through practical agricultural training. With 80% practical learning and 20% theory, the programme equips trainees with hands-on skills required in the job market while also preparing them for self-employment in the agricultural sector.
Offered across four KSA campuses; Nyeri, Thika, Ainabkoi and Ugenya the course includes three months of campus training followed by a three-month industrial attachment, giving students real-world experience within Kenya’s agricultural value chains.
In his remarks, the Secretary Administration congratulated the trainees for securing a place in the competitive programme and encouraged them to take full advantage of the opportunity to build skills that will contribute to national agricultural productivity.
He also highlighted the government’s continued investment in youth empowerment through agriculture under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), noting that the sector remains one of the largest creators of jobs while ensuring food and nutrition security.
The trainees were further encouraged by the growing opportunities in international labour mobility, including the Seasonal Workers Scheme (SWS), through which the Kenya School of Agriculture has already facilitated over 600 students to undertake paid agricultural internships in the United Kingdom.
The Government continues to strengthen agricultural training institutions, with over KSh 500 million invested in infrastructure development at KSA and its campuses to support the training of competent and technology-driven agricultural professionals.
The newly admitted cohort now begins a transformative journey that will equip them with the knowledge, skills, and mindset required to become the next generation of agricultural innovators and leaders.
