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Cover of the handbook, Photo:  © GIZ

Why this handbook

If agriculture is to offer a future for both the old and the young generation, better framework conditions must be created for the family farmers and their farms. This includes a conducive environment for farm succession to ensure that it is smooth and serves both generations.

Farm succession helps:

• Retain the assets of farming families and increase their farm value
• Give succeeding generations a chance to become successful entrepreneurs
• Create employment
• Find ways and means to financially safeguard older generations

In addition, by taking over a farm, youths do not rely on inheritances and can gain timely access to productive land — which is a key obstacle for youths to set foot in agriculture.

The GenX handbook is for providers of advisory services in the agriculture sector, which can be farmer organisations, development partners like GIZ, NGOs, parastatals, or other organisations that support youth in agriculture. It serves project owners and managers, in particular, as well as facilitators and coaches.

The GenX approach

The GenX process was developed in cooperation between the Andreas Hermes Akademie, the GIZ Global Project Employment in Rural Areas with a Focus on Youth and the Young Farmers’ Organization of Uganda (UNYFA) in 2020.

The GenX Process takes around six months to complete. It combines a series of consultation workshops and coaching phases that are flexible and can be adapted to specific country contexts and needs. The programme includes sessions on awareness-raising, business development services, business planning and farm succession planning.

GenX aims at farmers of younger and older generations in Africa to successfully shape the transfer of their farming businesses from one generation to the next or to find innovative co-management forms This may lead to:

• More young farmers in Africa gaining access to land, which will make them less reliant on inheritances.
• More young farmers successfully managing farms — either together with the older generation, or after a planned takeover process.
• Young and older farmers having a secure livelihood and the creation of diverse prospects for rural youth.
• African farmers’ organizations and other organizations successfully advising and accompanying farmers in farm succession and offering their members and constituencies added value with an innovative service.
• Best practice examples of successful land and farm succession in the local community.