EMPOWERED CHAMA YOUTH GROUP CREATES JOBS, EMPOWERS INDIGENOUS FARMERS

By SIMON MUNTEMBA

TODAY in Zambia, a high number of community members especially the young people who represent a majority of the population, including those that successfully completed their secondary schooling, some even recipients of a university degree are jobless because there are simply not enough employment opportunities.

Thousands of bright-eyed youths are looking for the so called “decent formal jobs” in vain as competition is stiff, and the positions that graduates are supposed to fill in seem to decrease each and every day. In fact, even those with university degrees have difficulties being selected from saturated applicant pools for professional careers.

This has been a daunting issue to successive governments because the frustrated unemployed youths have resorted to destructive activities such as stealing, prostitution, and drug abuse, while others in rural areas are engaging themselves in illegal poaching.

However, there is one job market which has been on the rise in the recent past years: entrepreneurship opportunities. With the number of unemployed qualified young people ever burgeoning, the cooperative form of entrepreneurship method of tackling the problem needs to be applied.

The success story of Kavuna Youth Group of Kamphemba Ward in Chama District of Eastern Province has proved that when given an opportunity through cooperative empowerment, the youths can contribute positively to the nation’s development.

After hopelessly job-hunting for so long, the group of youths in Chama District decided to ditch the frustration and form a cooperative to start their own business. On a positive note, this group has not only created jobs for fellow youths and empowered vulnerable local farmers with start-up capitals in the community, but also made a whooping K61, 350 profit within a short period after operationalisation.

Group chairperson, Robert Chabinga narrated that it was after feeling the pinch of unemployment that he together with others decided to form a cooperative and venture into oil processing, poultry production, and feed production as a way of creating their own employment.

Chabinga however said it was not easy for the group of 52 members, consisting of 26 males and 26 females, some of them being graduates with university degrees to start their business because they lacked funds to buy the necessary machinery.

He said, luckily, after applying successfully, the group received the grant totalling K895, 000 in October 2021 from the World Bank-funded Transforming Landscape and Resilience and Development (TRALARD) project to support their proposed business.

Chabinga explained that the group used the money to purchase the combined oil expeller, a feed mixer, and an incubator, as well as channelled some towards construction of a poultry, operations office, the hatcheries and storage rooms, among other things.

He said immediately after installing the oil processing machinery early last year, the group started producing cooking oil which is supplied in the community and district at large.

“Our cooking oil is extracted from locally grown sun flowers that we purchase from Chama based farmers. To date we have produced up to 2,045 litres of cooking oil which we supply across the district at a cheaper price of K150 per 5 litres, and we have so far made K61, 350 profit,” Chabinga said.

“We are happy that our efforts are yielding results, otherwise, we would have continued complaining if we waited to be employed,” he added.

He said the group was planning to start supplying cooking oil to supermarkets and chain stores across the country once they finalise the statutory obligations of obtaining a license, which they are currently working on.

Chabinga said that once they get their license, they would begin to sell their product under the trade name “Chamgold” as homage to the farmers of Chama and the land through which all their products come from.

Chabinga also stated that the group has managed to increase the stock in the poultry project from 55 chickens to 211 chickens by utilizing their newly acquired incubator.

He explained that prior to commencement of production the group members underwent various trainings that were provided by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock to help them manage both machinery and livestock they sought to buy.

“Through the TRALARD Project we received training on livestock management as well as feed production from the Ministry of Fisheries as well as training on machinery maintenance use by experts from CAMCO Zambia equipment Limited,” Chabinga said.

Under their feed production project, the group sells sunflower cake, a by-product from the oil expelling activity to local livestock farmers.

Chabinga also said that the expelling machine was benefiting the community as they were charging K3 per kilogramme to expel cooking oil from sunflower, groundnuts, and soya beans.

He further stated that the group had also managed to employ 12 local people, broken down as; two poultry attendants, two security guards, three oil expeller operators, three feed mixer operators and two production supervisors.

Meanwhile, Chabinga said in realising that sunflower was the ideal crop for their project, the group has empowered 500 local small-scale farmers who lacked the financial means to start growing the crop with 2,250 kilogrammes of sunflower seeds.

He said this was also done to ensure that the crops for expelling cooking oil was locally sourced and maximum profit is made.

Chabinga stated that among the empowered 500 local small-scale farmers were 287 males and 213 females who lacked the financial means to buy the seeds.

The group chairperson explained that the Kavuna Youth Group would first recover its 2,250 kilograms of sunflower seeds during harvesting time before buying the crops from the empowered small-scale farmers.

“We have empowered 500 sunflower farmers this season with 2,250 kgs of seeds. Among the empowered local farmers are 287 men and 213 women. We have given them the seeds as soft loans because we realised that others were unable to buy inputs. During harvest time, we shall first recover our 2,250 kgs before buying the rest for value addition at our plant,” Chabinga said.

He said the youth group would continue impacting the lives of local people in Chama by serving as a platform for producers to participate in socioeconomic activities to improve their livelihoods.

Yes, the youth-led micro and small enterprises are vital in countries like Zambia with limited formal employment and in a context where there is insufficient job creation in the market.

The story of Kavuna Youth Group is really a testimony that creating pathways for youth social entrepreneurship can generate positive outcomes for everyone. Youth empowerment plays a vital and significant role in poverty alleviation and eradication from society.

Actually, self-employment and entrepreneurship has also been identified by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Bank, the Africa Development Bank, various international organisations and governments as the best method for creating employment among the millions of youths in order to overcome unemployment.

When supported by enabling policies and programmes, social entrepreneurship can represent a great way for young people to earn a living, and improve the world around them.

Recent graduates and other unemployed youths can also take a leaf from the Kavuna Youth Group by coming together and forming a cooperative rather than waiting to be employed. Of course, it is not easy but they have to do something for themselves.

It is saddening that in developing countries like Zambia, many regulatory systems often prevent — sometimes involuntarily — young people from accessing financial products and services needed to start an enterprise.

And a lack of access to training, technical support, networks and markets are also discouraging the growth of youth social enterprises. This is frustrating the young people with innovative minds.

Empowerment of unemployed youths is like a lubricant that keeps the machine effectively working without any breakdown. The absence of oil in a steaming machine can cause a serious danger to the engine, likewise the absence of youth empowerment can spell a great danger to the society.

Therefore, there is a need for the Governments and other decision-makers to remove obstacles to youth social entrepreneurship, such as access to start-up funds that are presently limiting the ability of young people to engage in profitable activities.

In fact, instead of relying on big businesses to inspire economic growth and create employment opportunities, the Zambian Government needs to focus on scaling efforts to support local innovators with business experience or knowledge.

The Governments should put in place policies and regulatory frameworks that promote skills development, ensure the availability of adapted financial capital and services, generate relevant technical support and infrastructure as well as open networks and markets to young social entrepreneurs. Fostering a culture and societal norms that support youth social entrepreneurship is also needed.

According to a recent report released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, tearing down barriers that prevent more young people from becoming successful social entrepreneurs will contribute to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

This is so true because social entrepreneurship can provide a viable path forward for young people to earn a living and help address their communities’ needs, while advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

Youth empowerment plays a vital and significant role in poverty alleviation and eradication from society. An empowered youth focuses more on the development of their skills to make it a better source of earning for them in the early stages.

One of the great benefits of youth empowerment in society is that it creates a sense of responsibility in them and they are no more dependent on anyone for their needs and wants. A responsible youth in any society gives rise to an empowered and ideal society.

When the youth of society is responsible enough, they do not utilize their time and efforts in bad activities instead they value their time and keep them to stay focused and concentrated on their goals.

On the other hand, the idle youths who are poor, hungry and un-empowered will certainly resort to several methods of anti-social behaviour.

When un-empowered youth step towards the path of crimes, they are not only harming themselves but prove to be a threat to the society in which they are living.

This is why youth empowerment should be promoted efficiently so that not even a single person indulges him/herself in the wrong activities that often lead to crimes.

Successful cooperatives are possible, feasible and desirable and play an important role in community development.

Thus, unlocking entrepreneurship opportunities for them could lower unemployment and bring social benefits.