It was day filled with learning and networking for the women who attended the Nestlé Needs YOUth and Farming in Heels event at The Capital Mbombela on Saturday September 14. This event aimed to promote young women in agriculture.
In 2013, Nestlé established the Nestlé Needs YOUth (NNY) initiative to help 10 million young people gain access to economic opportunities by 2030. Since announcing this commitment in 2017, the brand has reached more than five million youth through various initiatives.
The NNY’s approach is centred around three distinct focus areas: agripreneurship: inspiring the farmers of tomorrow, entrepreneurship: empowering young innovators, and employment and employability: helping young people secure jobs.
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Comfort Tshisikule, youth learning and development head at Nestlé Eastern and Southern Africa, said the purpose of the event on Saturday was to capacitate women and to encourage them to actively participate in the agricultural space. She said for the event, they had experts, farmers and agriculturalists who are already on their journey share some insights so that they could inspire others.
“At the end of the event, the women got to attend a master class in poultry farming, as it is one of the streams in agriculture that is easy to start with little hustle. This is for all the women, those who have been on the journey and those who are thinking about it; they are getting inspiration from those who have been through this, and they learn what challenges they have faced and how they have they have overcome them, and how they can be better be prepared,” she said.
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Actress and poultry farmer Kamohelo Bombe, the founder of Farming in Heels, a South African women in agriculture initiative, collaborated with them as she supports women in agriculture too. She founded Farming in Heels in 2021 when she recognised the incredible potential of South African women in agriculture.
“When establishing Farming in Heels, my goal was to create an empowering platform to celebrate young women in the agriculture space and to provide them with the resources and support their need to not only make progress in farming, but to thrive,” said Bombe.
“This initiative aligns with International Youth Day, as I have witnessed first-hand the passion and dedication women bring to this sector in order to change their lives. A lot of this can be attributed to how individuals and businesses alike are creating pathways for sustainable development that will have a lasting impact on young people for future generations.”
