November 2016 – A native of Phnom Penh, Muyleang Kim spent her whole life in the city and was not familiar with agriculture. As a college student she chose to major in agricultural technology and management because she wanted to learn more about the sector and contribute to the development of Cambodia’s agriculture.

Kim is one of the youth leaders who participated in the Syngenta-USAID Ag Student Connections Program 2016 in Hanoi, Vietnam, with support from the USAID Feed the Future Asia Innovative Farmers project.

“I have always been curious about agriculture,” said Kim, a member of the winning team of the Innovative Solutions for Smallholder Farmers Challenge and student from Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia. “Thanks to USAID and the Ag Student Connections Program, I am excited that our group’s project design on net houses will be implemented in rural Vietnam.”

As the Asia-Pacific region is home to 60 percent of the world’s youth population, there is opportunity to capitalize on the energy and creativity of young people to transform agriculture. The Innovative Farmers project brought students from six South and Southeast Asian countries to the Connections Program, organized in partnership with Syngenta, to learn more about the current state of agriculture and smallholder farmers’ constraints in Vietnam.  Students learned about the challenges of agriculture first hand through practical field work and meeting with smallholder farmers.  

“I’m an agriculture student but never had field work experience outside the classroom until the Connections program,” said Phung Ha Trang, a Crop Science student from Vietnam University of Agriculture.

“It was such a fruitful journey of 10 days,” said Shilu Dahal, a student from Agriculture and Forestry University, Nepal. Above all, I got to learn about the farming communities in Vietnam, how the farmers have integrated technology in farming and how productive and advanced they are getting.”

The program introduced students to innovative agricultural technologies such as a precision irrigation system that uses sensors and smartphones from the Vietnamese startup MimosaTEK, allowing them to observe first-hand how the innovations were utilized in the field.

“Tri Nguyen from MimosaTEK is my inspiration.  I'm so amazed at how his technology is helping farmers. I will follow his footsteps,” said Souay Vongsichaleune, a student from National University of Laos.

After the 10-day event, students were challenged to design innovative solutions to tackle existing smallholder farmer constraints in Vietnam. The winning team of the Innovative Solutions for Smallholder Farmers Challenge introduced multiple pest exclusion net designs that addressed the challenges of access to finance and inefficient irrigation systems. The solution will be implemented by Syngenta Foundation, Center for Technology Development and Agricultural Extension, and USAID Feed the Future Asia Innovative Farmers Project.

Engaging youth in agriculture is integral to feeding the rising global population and ensuring food security for future generations.