The Republic of Uganda has one of the fastest growing populations in the world. The high population growth rate as well as the high fertility rate led to today’s situation where more than 50 % of the population is below the age of 18 (Brown et al., 2019).

As a consequence of this high population growth, youth unemployment has risen sharply over the last couple of years. According to a survey carried out by ActionAid and the Uganda National NGO Forum, the unemployment rate among young people in Uganda is 61. 6 per-cent in 2012 (Baluku, et al., 2019). Given the fact that that more than 50 % of the population is below 18, the amount of unemployed people in Uganda is enormous. This can and will most likely have destabilizing and disturbing effects on the economy as well as the society at large of the country in the foreseeable future, as the youth is very often at the source of revolutions and political turmoil, of which the Arab Spring is just one example (Gready, 2013).

But the high growth rate of the Ugandan population is not the only possible reason for the in-creased number of youth being unemployed. General poverty, an outdated education system and corruption are only some of the reasons that are often mentioned in connection with youth unemployment in Africa, and more specifically in Uganda (Yaya, et al., 2019)..

Despite the existence of the large arable land most of the Ugandan youths have note been well equipped with the required skills of modern farming something can give the youths jobs readily due to the demand for food globally and also the abundance of arable land in Uganda.

Mubende district with a land area of more than 4,645 km² and more than 70% of the land can be used for growing crops. Despite the presence of the fertile soils in Mubende district and fact the district is located just 170 kilometers away from Kampala were there is ready market for agriculture there is still a lot of poverty in the district and it is against this challenge that this project seeks to address a challenge of unemployment by training the youths in commercial and mechanized agriculture to provide them with jobs.

Because of the large size of Mubende district and the limited funds from the donors the project will use radios stations in informing the youths and training them and also physically around 2,000 youths with in Mubende district will be mobilized and Trained on modern farming methods to enable them get jobs and also fight poverty. This will specifically be done in a way that the sub counties will be group into three categories to ensure that the whole district is covered by the project.

Project Title: Training, skilling the youths and in commercial agriculture, agro-processing for job and wealth creation

Project Aim: To train the youth on commercial, mechanized agriculture and to process and provide jobs to the youths

Key project activities: Training the youths in commercial and mechanized agriculture

Outputs addressed: 1. Increased employment opportunities

Increased output of agriculture
Mechanizing agriculture
Marketing the agriculture output of the youths

The project will cost 1.5 billion including all the activities from initiation, monitoring and many more for the three months duration thus 2022 to 2024.

LOCATION.

The project will be located in Kyambogo University.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE ORGANIZATION

MUBENDE YOUTH AGRICULTURE PROJECT

This organization is located in Mubende and its main purpose is to train the youth in Mubende about the modern/mechanized agriculture to be in position to be self-employed and also be in position to create wealth both for themselves but for the community as whole.

The organization also aims at ensuring that that there is food sufficiency in Mubende by specifically training the youths in the community to understand how the agriculture is done in a modern way that generates jobs and ensures high output.

Mubende youth agriculture project was started by timothy during his first visit to Mubende he observed how endowed Mubende is but the residents especially the youth do not have jobs and are instead involved in dangerous activities like gambling and criminal activities this therefore compelled timothy being a graduate of agriculture to design a sustainable project that will ensure generation of jobs to the youths in Mubende district. The project is registered by the government and the laws of Uganda are obeyed. The project is managed by a team of experts and has also board of directors who are technically and managerially competent to analyze the success and failures of the project.

The president of the project is Timothy, the vice president is Racheal and the chairman board of directors is Mr, Jimmy Katamba. The project is going to run for 3 years from 2022 to 2024 by the time the time elapses the project will be sustaining and the youths in Mubende would have improved in the knowledge of creating self-employed.

Background information of Mubende District.

Mubende is a district in the central region of Uganda. The town of Mubende is the site of the district headquarters. The district was reduced in size in July 2005 with the creation of the [Mityana District] and reduced again in 2019 with the creation of Kassanda Disrtict

Mubende District is bordered by Kyankwazi District to the north, Kiboga District and Kassanda to the northeast and Mityana District to the east. Gomba District and Sembabule lie to the south, Kyengegwa to the southwest and Kibaale District to the northwest of Mubende District. Mubende, the district headquarters, is located approximately 172 kilometres (107 mi), by road, west of Kampala, the capital of Uganda and the largest city in that country. The coordinates of Mubende District are:00 36N, 31 24E.

The district covers an area of approximately 4,620 square kilometres (1,780 sq mi). It comprises three counties, namely Buwekula, Kassanda and Kasambya. The district has eighteen sub-counties and one town council which include; Kassanda is no longer among its counties. It has been confirmed to be an independent district.

The following are the subcounties in Mubende district that the project will ensure that it coordinates the unemployed youths in these areas and offer training to them and coordinate them further so as they are well aquited with modern and mechanized farming strategies to enable growth. They include; Bagezza, Bukuya, Butoloogo, Kalwana, Kasambya,Kibalinga, Kiganda, Kigando, Kitenga, Kitumbi, Kiyuni, Madudu, Mannyogaseka, Mubende Town Council, Nabingoola and Naluntuntu

BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT.

PROJECT BACKGROUND.

The 1991 population census estimated the district population at about 277,500. In 2002 the national census estimated the population of the district to be about 423,450 people of whom (50.3%) were males and (49.7%) were female, with an annual population growth rate of 3.6%. It is estimated that in 2012, the population of the district was about 610,600. The major economic activity in Mubende District is agriculture with emphasis on food crops like: Sweet potatoes, Beans, Cassava, Maize, Bananas, Groundnuts, Onions, Cabbage and Tomatoes, while the Cash crops grown in the district include: Coffee and Tea.

Due to the rising population in Mubende and specifically of the youth the level of unemployment has increased drastically and this has also fuelled criminal activities like robbery, murder and many others therefore this project will ensure that it trains the youths on modern farming and also inspire them to love farming so that they can utilize the land they have in their villages to create employment for themselves.

Mubende district is specifically good for this project because the district has fertile soils and if the youths are trained properly on modern farming methods it will enable them in on the to live prosperously and also enhance enable them create the jobs they need.

Creation of employment opportunities to the youth in agriculture through skilling them in agriculture will have a positive effect to the region like; It will increase the food output of them area, Reduce unemployment, Make youths productive, Reduce criminal activities, Increase job opportunities for the youth in agriculture in the area and Improvement on the incomes of the people in the area.

Problem statement and need

Mubende district youth are facing a serious challenge of unemployment, coupled with poverty. The Mubende district records indicates that though the youth are the ones in the productive age they are lacking what to do. They do not have jobs, over 70% of the youths do not have jobs and as a result they are involved in criminal activities like robbery , prostitution, gambling and alcoholism this therefore has led to a large extend stifled the developed of thee area and led to poverty among the youths. Mubende district being one of the most fertile districts in Uganda it is therefore imperative to engage the youths into an agricultural project so as there is reversal of such criminal activities among the youths and they are also productive.

THE PROPOSED PROJECT/INTERVENTION AND ITS DESCRIPTION

PROJECT JUSTIFICATION.

The level of unemployment in Mubende is high and the area is rich with fertile soils , this therefore makes it easy for the project to be implemented since the people of Mubende are mostly farmers however their tradition methods of farming is not productive and this is one of the main reasons why the youths are unemployed since they do not view agriculture as an area that can provide sufficient income to maintain their livelihood and therefore this has led to the shunning of agriculture in this area.

PROJECT LAUNCH.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT.

Because of the large size of Mubende district the project will ensure that the sub-Counties in the district are subdivided into three

This will include;

Sub-county	Group
Bagezza	Group A
Bukuya
Kalwana
Kasambya
Kibalinga
Kiganda	Group B
Kigando
Kitenga
Kitumbi
Kiyuni
Madudu	Group C
Manyogaseke
Mubende Town council
Nabingoola
Naluntuntu

The district will be divided into three groups of the sub counties so that the project is able to cover the different youths in the different areas.

Due to the availability of limited resources (1,500,000 shs) It may be difficult to physically reach all the youths in the district however the project will ensure that overall we reach 2,000 youths in the district are we train them these youths will also further train others and after three years the whole district will be covered.

This will bring prosperity in the district and will also enable the youths to be engaged in productive activities, thereby improving the standard of living of the residents

SUSTAINABILITY PLANS

The project will set up an agro-processing factory that will enable in the processing of the different crops and packing them. The crops that will be grown by the youths will be soya beans, beans, ground nuts. This will be packed and processed into babies food and will then be exported to developed countries and also sold to the supermarkets of Kampala to fetch good prices for the produce of the youths.

The marketing of the produce to different countries and markets in Kampala will ensure that there is steady cash flow for the youths and therefore they will be able to pay for the tractor services. The money got by charging the youths for the tractor services will solely be used for the repairing of the tractor and maintaining it in good condition to ensure that the youths are always having the tractor for the ploughing of their gardens. The project will also buy the produce from the youths to ensure that they get ready market for their produce. This produce that will be bought from the youth will also ensure that the youths are having the study cash flow from the project and then the project will sell it to supermarkets and outside developed countries.

Marketing of the products

Markets of the products will be done online so that the project does not incur losses in searching for the market this will also ensure that the project is able to make profits to ensure the sustainability of the project to enable its continue after the funders have pulled out. List of items needed to enable the effectiveness of project; Qualified agricultural staff, Tractors, Quality seedlings, Project office and Resource for registration of the company.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN

NARRATIVE SUMMARY	TARGETS	PERFORMANCE STATUS		OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS
		BASELINE	STATUS
Goal Employment opportunities for the youths
Purpose Increased agricultural production of 2000 youths in Mubende District through modernizing farming methods.	90% of farmers use modern farming methods by the end of year 3. 85% of farmers ensure value addition in their produce. 80% of farmers access good quality seedlings by year 4	5% 10% 5%	95% 80% 85%	There was a high percentage on the outcomes because youths had high expectations.
Output Trained farmers	2000 youths trained in commercial farming. 2000 youths trained farmers trained in value addition 2000 youths trained in modern farming	100 60 80	1900 1990 1800
Activities Mobilizing 2000 farmers in Mubende District. Training 2000 farmers in commercial farming Training 2000 farmers in value addition. Conducting 60 workshops value addition. Providing seedlings to 2000 youths	INPUTS Project Officers Public Address systems Project officers One Team Leader 1 Monitoring and Evaluation Officer 10 Project officers 6 Agricultural Extension Officers Office stationary Two Double cabin pick ups 10 motorcycles Maintenance service	Project officers (8), extension officers (3), M&E officer (1), a coordinator (1) and drivers (1) A pick-up (1), motorcycles (6), computers (6), MIS (1) etc. Utilities were budgeted for and acquired using funds provided by the donor.		The donor provided timely funds

PROPOSED BUDGET

Item	Quantity	Amount
Second hand tractor purchase	3	240.000,000
One Double cabin and motorcycles for staff		200,000,000
Spare parts		60,000,000
Repairs budget		50,000,000
SALARY
Drivers	3	10,000,000
Project team members salary plus allowance	6	60,000,000
Officer stationary		10,000,000
Salary of M & E	1	100,000,000
Team leader	1	5,000,000
Office rentals	3 years	30,000,000
Office rentals	Each year = 10,000,000	30,000,000
Installation of agro-processing machinery
Land	5 acres	100,000,000
Machinery	1	500,000,000
Maintenance		100,000,000
Hotels for workshops
Training workshops	Every four months 9*1,000,000	9,000,000
Accommodation for specialist who train youths In modern farming	9 * 100,000	9,00,000
Seedlings		100,000,000
soft cash to youths who can’t access land for agriculture		221,000,000
Media adverts on radios educating the youth		5,000,000
Total		1,500,000,000

ANNEXES

PROBLEM TREE

OBJECTIVE TREE

LOGICAL FRAME WORK

NARRATIVE SUMMARY

OBJECTIVELY VERRIFIABLE INDICATORS (OVI)

MEANS OF VERIFICATION

ASSUMPTIONS

Goal

Improved livelihood of youths by creating jobs for them in Agriculture

70% of youths in Mubende District getting Employed.

District reports

Uganda Bureau of Statistics.

Political stability in the region.

Favorable government policies in the agricultural sector.

Purpose

Creation of jobs for the youths

By skilling them in agricultural sector in Mubende District through modernizing farming methods.

90% of youths use modern farming methods by the end of year one year to enable them create jobs along the agriculture supply chain.

At least 85% of youths ensure vale addition in their produce.

80% of youths access good quality seedlings by year 4 months

Project reports

Survey reports

Monitoring and evaluation reports

Youths are willing to make use of the knowledge and skills acquired through training.

Youths are willing to collect the seedlings from the specified project locations.

Output

Trained youths in commercial farming to be self employed

Trained youths in value addition.

Trained farmers in modern farming.

2000 youths trained in commercial farming.

2000 youths trained in value addition

2000 youths trained in modern farming

List for seedling distribution

Attendance list

Field visits

Youths practice modern technics.

youths are engaged in commercial farming

Activities

Mobilizing 2000 youths in Mubende District.

Training 2000 youths in commercial farming

Training 2000 youths in value addition.

Conducting 60 workshops value addition training to youths

Providing seedlings to 2000 youths

INPUTS

Project Officers

Public Address systems

Project officers

One Team Leader

1 Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

10 Project officers

6 Agricultural Extension Officers

Office stationary

Two Double cabin pick ups

10 motorcycles

Maintenance service

Public Address system

Office rental Shs. 30 Million (M)

Salary for one Team

Leader – Shs, 5.0 M

Salary for M&E Officer – Shs. 100 M

Salary for 6 Project team – Shs. 60 M

6 Agric. Extension Officers – 60m

3 Drivers – Shs. 10 M

The project will be funded by donors.

REFERENCES

Baluku, M. M., Leonsio, M., Bantu, E., & Otto, K. (2019). The impact of autonomy on the relationship between mentoring and entrepreneurial intentions among youth in Germany, Kenya, and Uganda. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research.

Brown, M. B., Bolger, D. T., & Fennessy, J. (2019). All the eggs in one basket: a countrywide assessment of current and historical giraffe population distribution in Uganda. Global Ecology and Conservation, 19, e00612.

Gready, P. (2013). Organisational Theories of Change in the Era of Organisational Cosmopolitanism: lessons from ActionAid’s human rights-based approach. Third World Quarterly, 34(8), 1339-1360.

Katabarwa, C. F. (2009). Community Based Savings Micro Finance And Household Income Poverty Eradication In Uganda: A Case Study Of Busimbi Sub County, Mubende District.” (Doctoral dissertation, Makerere University, Kampala).

Yaya, O. S., Ogbonna, A. E., & Mudida, R. (2019). Hysteresis of unemployment rates in Africa: new findings from Fourier ADF test. Quality & Quantity, 53(6), 2781-2795.

Research consultancy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.