Youth Participation, Training Effects and Persistent Challenges in the Fresh Vegetable Value Chain in Northern Uganda

Abstract

Like the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, youth unemployment remains a critical development challenge in Uganda. In northern Uganda, the vegetable value chain offers potential livelihood opportunities and can provide gainful employment for the young people. While the government of Uganda encourages value addition and commercial farming as potential avenues for mitigating youth unemployment, existing studies have seldom examined the implications of such interventions on the performance of youth livelihood projects. Using the fresh vegetable value chain as a case, this study aimed to examine youth participation and the estimated effect of market-oriented training on youth performance and the underlying constraints. Data were collected from 210 youth across selected districts in the Acholi sub-region using a multi-stage sampling design. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to analyse participation patterns and constraints, while Propensity Score Matching was applied to estimate the causal effects of training. Results indicate that market-oriented training significantly shaped youth engagement in the value chain, with trained youth concentrating mostly on vegetable production, while their non-trained counterparts were in downstream marketing activities. And that training has a positive and significant effect on farmer group membership, adoption of fresh vegetable preservation practices, and use of agricultural credit. Youth endure persistent challenges such as inadequate capital, high input prices, land access constraints, and climate-related risks, which affect their participation in the vegetable value chain. Therefore, we contend that integrating youth training with access to affordable credit, starter-up input packages, group-based land access, market linkages, and climate-resilient support, alongside structured post-training follow-up, can enhance effective value chain participation.