Context and Project Objective

Youth in rural Indonesia face high unemployment rates and often struggle to make a living. In East Nusa Tenggara province, more than 1.1 million people live below the poverty line, and 33% of them are youth (ages 15–34). In West Nusa Tenggara province, 23% of the more than 700,000 people who live below the poverty line are youth. In both provinces, these young people earn less than US$1 per day: the poverty line is 403,005 Indonesian rupiahs (US$24.83) per capita per month in East Nusa Tenggara and 459,826 Indonesian rupiahs (US$28.34) per capita per month in West Nusa Tenggara.

The Let’s Grow! project prioritizes sustainable income generation for young people through vegetable farming, striving for a minimum daily income of US$4 for participating youth. While the main focus of Let’s Grow! is imparting Good Agriculture Practices, the project also emphasizes life skills training to enhance young farmers’ success in both agriculture and daily life. The project incorporates leafy vegetable companion crops in the vegetable farming demonstration plots to increase participants’ income potential and manage risk.

This project began in Flores with a 1-year pilot phase called Youth Upskilling for Employment in Vegetable Farming. In July 2023, the project was formalized as Let’s Grow! and expanded to Sumbawa and Timor-Sumba clusters to reach more youth and replicate the success in Flores. Eligible project participants include those living on less than US$2 per day, youth-headed households, and unemployed youth.

Expected Outcomes

• Increase the daily income of 1,000 youth (in addition to 250 youth during the pilot phase) to at least US$4 through sustainable vegetable farming practices
• Improve participants’  agricultural skills and knowledge through training and demonstration plots
• Enhance participants’ life skills, including financial management and entrepreneurial skills
• Increase the production and income potential of participants’ farms through companion crops
• Mitigate the risk of crop failure through diversified farming practices

YBTS Partners

Funding Partners: Ganesha Foundation
Local Partners: Department of Argiculture  and Food Security; village governments; local community

Project Periods

• 30 June 2022 – 30 June 2023: Youth Upskilling for Employment in Vegetable Farming (pilot)
• 1 July 2023 – 31 October 2024: Let’s Grow!

Location

Timor-Sumba Cluster (Kupang, Soe, Timor Tengah Selatan, Sumba Barat Daya, Sumba Barat)

Achievment

By October 2024, a total of 811 young people have participated in mentoring through this program.