Brenda Asasira uses agritourism to motivate fellow youth to join agriculture

When Kakungulu Brenda Asasira got admitted to Makerere University for a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness, many of her peers laughed at her for having “wasted” her time.

“Most of my peers threw shade at me and asked me why I chose to “waste” my time studying an agriculture related course. I realized that a lot of young people have stereotyped biases against agriculture. Some think farmers are dirty, poor, old and illiterate people, which is not the case,”Asasira says.

Fast forward, when she graduated in 2020, Asasira was determined to change the narrative about agriculture. To be able to achieve her dream, the young girl in 2021 started Bris Agro Safaris as a youth based organisation that seeks to interest, motivate and train young people to take on agriculture as a profitable and sustainable business.

She says this came after attending an agribusiness apprenticeship programme by Michigan Fellows Agribusiness Initiative that helped her turn the ideas she  had into a real business venture .

“So I started up Bris Agro Safaris(BAS)  so as to create awareness about agriculture as a business especially to the young generation. I realized that in order to ensure food security in the world in future, the young people have to be directly involved in agricultural production so they have to be interested,” she says of her beginning.

The 26 year old said her organization employs tourism in agriculture as a means of interesting young people to engage in agribusiness but also train people in urban farming especially poor urban dwellers without farm land and persons with disabilities.

“We also organise monthly online agribusiness webinars where we host experts in agribusiness and have them talk to people about the chosen agribusiness topics of interest. I use agritourism to motivate the youth to take on agribusiness.”

She adds that she works with various farmers all over the country at all scales of production where he organizes farm trips, trainings, camps, vacations, internships and food tasting experiences at these different farms where she takes the youths.

“My agritourists get an all-round farm experience filled with both fun activities and serious farm trainings. This also helps farmers to get some extra income on their farms because all agritourists pay farm entrance fees and farm training fees.”

“Then for the sake of urban farming trainings, my team and I move to the homesteads of our target beneficiaries and have hands on trainings with them.”

The organization also organizes online trainings for youths in agriculture.

Getting clients

Asasira says the organization has developed a strategic online marketing culture where it runs adverts, calls of interest and marketing their agri tour packages and services.

“Most youths are always online so it makes it very easy to use social media to reach out to our target beneficiaries. We also go to schools and pitch our services to them.”

She adds that most of their urban farming trainings basically target urban dwellers that are not doing well economically, especially those in towns and peri urban centres who can’t afford daily food due to financial constraints.

“We train them in urban farming and help them set up urban farms in the very little spaces around their homes. An urban garden can be put up on the rooftop, veranda, backyard, etc.  They can mainly grow vegetables in these urban gardens. At least these fresh, organically grown and nutritious vegetables can supplement their balanced diet and they can also sell the surplus around their homesteads to earn some money that they can use for some other expenses,”Asasira notes.

She adds that they also train the rich who would wish to get access to fresh and organically grown vegetables in the vicinity of their homes.

Proud

The 26 year old says she is proud of what she has achieved from the career she chose to take on .

Asasira notes that she was appointed as a youth coach, mentor and programs administrator at Michigan Fellows Agribusiness Initiative but was also taken up as a participant in the YALI Regional Leadership Center in Nairobi .

She was also appointed as an agritourism officer by the Agro-Tourism Association of Uganda but was also contracted as an agribusiness expert by Kenganda Studios, an American owned YouTube channel that shoots agribusiness documentaries mainly in Uganda and Kenya.

“I have met and networked with different people that I never thought I could meet. I am glad to report that I have changed mindsets of very many young people and some of them are already engaging in agriculture either as a side business or as a main source of income,”Asasira says.

She hopes that in the next five years, she will have an agritourism centre for her organization, Bris Agro Safaris.

“I hope to have an agrotourism center for BAS, with a fully functional farm, farm lodge, farm camping area and an agribusiness internship center where the youths will be welcome to get hands on training in agribusiness.”

Despite the achievements, Asasira says there have been some challenges in her new-found career.

“The main challenge I have faced is capital needed to put all my ideas and plans into practice but I believe with time I will do everything I want for BAS.”

She advises fellow youth to always get something they are interested in, develop more passion for it.

“Always out do themselves at whatever you do such that you can leave positive imprints in the minds of all people you meet,” Asasira says.