One Million Youth Leaders by 2030 (1M2030) — Farming, the Next Cool Thing

Hi, my name is Sarah Amarachi Njemanze and I am one in a million. And this is my story….

Imagine with me for a second a world where we fully know our value, that of others and that of our environment. This means a place where we would be bold enough to fulfill our dreams and make our difference in a way that creates room for others, impacts them and our environment positively. We tend to preserve what we value. Value creates equality, Value creates desire for progress and positive change. Young or old, male or female, everyone matters and our contribution is of essence. My passion is to motivate and mentor people, especially the youth, in understanding their value and taking their place in shaping our world.

We tend to preserve what we value.

I was born and raised in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria and I’m the first of three children. My parents are from the South-Eastern part of Nigeria; therefore, we are Igbos by ethnicity. My father served in the Nigerian Army as a military intelligence officer for over twenty years. He was also part of the ECOMOG contingent to Liberia. Since his retirement, he has been in the field of security intelligence training, operations, management and consultancy.

My passion is to motivate and mentor
people, especially the youth, in
understanding their value

My mother on the other hand works in the Nigerian Parliament and has served for over 29 years in different capacities as a legislative staff (currently on the directorate cadre), including being the Head of Administration and Clerk, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology. She has extensive experience as an administrator on the programming, analysis and policy formulation on environmental systems and law. She has also been part of several international conferences, including UN conferences, representing Nigeria. My parents are my heroes and one of my greatest influencers. I learnt from my parents the importance of impacting my immediate environment while maintaining a global perspective.

My parents are my heroes and one of
my greatest influencers

I moved to Konstanz, Germany as a teenager for further studies and am currently rounding up my degree in civil engineering and management at the University of Applied Science in Konstanz. I became a youth leader in my community here in Konstanz, organizing small groups and a safe place where teenagers could interact with one another and develop their talents and skills. In the course of time, in 2019, I was selected and appointed as one of the student Ambassadors by the Ministry of Science, Research and Art in Baden- Württemberg, Germany. My duty entails holding lectures alongside other Ambassadors and presenting the students with the educational opportunities they have after high school, while also sharing my own journey.

I am also a coordinator of a women’s program called SHINE. The focus is helping women and girls know their value and garner the strength that they need to go after their purpose. During holiday breaks, I have had the opportunity of speaking to different groups, including NGOs, faith-based organizations and schools in Nigeria on the importance of harnessing their value, worth and strength for positive impact.

I desire for my generation to see the
value of farming and be willing to
receive the baton from the older
generation.

The 1M2030 launch in September 2019 at the UN in Geneva was a very inspiring event for me, after which I began to re-study the SDGs. S-Farm (sustainable farming) initiative, which is my current project, is an idea that was birthed in that process and while reflecting on the needs and potential areas for growth and development in Nigeria and Africa. In view of the global yearning for food security particularly in Africa, the concept of S-Farm is to re-introduce the occupation of mechanized sustainable farming to the Nigerian youth, starting from eastern Nigeria.

My aim is to see that agriculture has a
future in Nigeria and Africa as a continent.

I desire for my generation to see the value of farming and be willing to receive the baton from the older generation. S-Farm intends to collaborate with agricultural experts, Institutions and experienced farmers to educate, train and equip the youth through workshops, seminars and conferences and other activities. Furthermore, we intend to cooperate with, and seek the support of, the local-, state-, and federal government and international bodies bidding for more sustainable agrarian friendly policies, land, machinery and seedling acquisition possibilities and microfinance opportunities.

My aim is to see that agriculture has a future in Nigeria and Africa as a continent. That future is our generation. Farming is the new cool thing that’s here to stay!

1M2030 Story #3: Farming, the Next Cool Thing - By Sarah Njemanze