youth

The U.S. Agency for International Development defines "youth" as people aged 10–29 years old. The Horticulture Innovation Lab has worked with youth in a variety of ways, including university students, young agricultural technicians, young farmers, young entrepreneurs, and young academic professionals. 

Here are a few key ways the Horticulture Innovation Lab has worked with youth:

american student talks with farmers in Uganda about citrus tree problems

Trellis Fund engaging graduate student in international development

The Horticulture Innovation Lab manages a program called the Trellis Fund, which provides small grants to organizations in Africa, Asia and Central America — and then matches those funded projects with knowledgeable university students from the Horticulture Innovation Lab's primary partner institutions. Find out how the Trellis Fund productively engages U.S.-based graduate students in international development.
young people in Guinea working together to plant a pineapple demonstration field

Youth-led horticulture center in Guinea

In Guinea, the Horticulture Innovation Lab has established a hub for horticultural innovation and training that includes leadership by young entrepreneurs and other youth who are engaged in the AVENIR program. Find out more about this center and its activities, which are based at the Centre Régional de Recherche Agricole de Foulayah (CRRAF) in partnership with the Institut de Recherche Agronomique de Guinée (IRAG).
young woman in Guateamala works to install drip irrigation in a vegetable field with the MasRiego project

Youth focus with irrigation project in Guatemala

As part of the Horticulture Innovation Lab's MásRiego (More Irrigation) project, there is a focus on women and youth as agricultural technicians supporting the project and as farmers who are adopting new technologies. Find out more about how youth have been engaged in Guatemala's Western Highlands with this irrigation project.

More information about youth and horticulture

Below you will find individual blog posts, information products, presentations, and other informative materials about engaging youth in horticulture for development in relation to the Horticulture Innovation Lab and other USAID-funded groups. You may also find additional related information under the Students tag.

Dried slices of pineapple on wire grid

Young entrepreneurs help Guinea’s farmers access postharvest innovation

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At 29, Fatoumata Cissoko dries pineapple for her business in West Africa and has already spent three years trying out different drying methods on her parents’ farm in Guinea. She is confident of the entrepreneurial opportunities that are found after harvest — and she is working to share her knowledge with more farmers.
Group visits pineapple plot at demonstration center in Guinea

Opening a center for horticulture innovations in Guinea

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Andra Williams writes about progress in Guinea, where she has been working for the Horticulture Innovation Lab to help open a new horticulture training and services center, with young entrepreneurs called "AVENIR" agents.
Woman, man and youth talking in vegetable field

MásRiego project starts in Guatemala

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Expanding irrigation and climate-smart farming to Guatemala

An international team led by UC Davis is working to connect 9,000 rural households in Guatemala with improved water management and climate-smart agriculture strategies, to increase food security and reduce poverty.

Scholarship opportunity: Guatemalan to study at North Carolina A&T

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Guatemalans interested in pursuing a doctoral degree are encouraged to apply for a fellowship package that will be part of an upcoming Horticulture Innovation Lab project in Guatemala, called MásRiego. Guatemaltecos/as interesados ​​en obtener un título de doctorado para solicitar un paquete de becas que formará parte de un nuevo proyecto del “Horticulture Innovation Lab” en Guatemala, llamado MásRiego.
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