The African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), AGRA, and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), have launched the Youth in Agrifood Systems Performance Index (YAPI) on July 28 during the 9th Africa Agriculture Science Week in Abuja, Nigeria.
YAPI assesses national performance across five interconnected domains, giving governments a complete picture of the enabling environment for young agricultural leaders:
- Education, Skills, and Technology: Evaluating training, capacity building, and digital adoption.
- Productive Resources and Services: Assessing access to land, capital, inputs, and advisory services.
- Economic Opportunities: Measuring market access, job quality, and entrepreneurial viability.
- Policy Engagement and Governance: Tracking youth representation in policy formulation and decision-making.
- Sustainability and Resilience to Shocks: Gauging climate adaptiveness and shock protection mechanisms.
To ensure applicability across diverse economic contexts, the framework was pilot-tested in 11 African Union Member States representing all five regions of the continent. Pilot Countries include: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Eswatini, The Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Uganda.
Insights gathered from these pilots helped refine the framework’s indicators and set the stage for its upcoming continental rollout.
Developed under the leadership of the AUC and AUDA-NEPAD, YAPI was made possible through a partnership between AGRA and the Mastercard Foundation under the Youth Entrepreneurship for the Future of Food and Agriculture (YEFFA) program. Technical expertise was provided by IFPRI, the University of Ibadan, and additional continental stakeholders.
YAPI directly aligns with the Kampala CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035) and the African Agribusiness Youth Strategy. It provides Member States with a standardized tool to feed into the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Biennial Review process, helping track progress toward Agenda 2063 objectives.