Image: UN Representative to Malawi Addah Dontoh inspecting CECOYD pavilion

A three-day National Youth Summit in Lilongwe has highlighted agriculture, soybean production and value addition as promising pathways to employment and entrepreneurship for Malawi’s young people.

Organised by the National Youth Council of Malawi, the summit, held from August 18–20 at the Bingu International Convention Centre, brought together about 1,200 young people from across the country alongside government officials, development partners, academia, private-sector representatives and civil society organisations.

A key attraction was the Centre for Concerned Youth in Development (CECOYD), which showcased soybean-based products including yoghurt, soya milk and soya butter. The products are being developed through the Youth Economic Empowerment Model (YEEM), implemented in partnership with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), with support from SunHawk Energy International.

The YEEM project equips young people with skills in soybean production, value addition, business management and financial literacy. The initiative aims to demonstrate that agriculture can provide opportunities beyond primary production by enabling young people to develop businesses around processing and other parts of the agricultural value chain.

The summit also provided CECOYD with an opportunity to connect with potential partners, government representatives and development organisations while gathering feedback on how its programmes could be expanded.

LUANAR’s involvement provides technical and research expertise, while private-sector support is helping strengthen the implementation and sustainability of the initiative. At the community level, CECOYD works directly with young people to help them apply the skills they acquire.

The event highlighted the importance of turning agricultural commodities into higher-value products. Processing soybeans into products such as milk, yoghurt and butter can create additional income opportunities while opening avenues for small businesses, food processing and local markets.

The summit also featured CECOYD’s Youth Empowerment through Supportive Education project, which has supported almost 335 direct beneficiaries with education assistance. Participants said the programme had helped them continue their studies and exposed them to broader opportunities for personal and economic development.

For Malawi, initiatives such as YEEM demonstrate how youth participation, agricultural commercialisation and value addition can work together to strengthen rural economies. By giving young people access to skills, markets, finance and partnerships, agriculture can become a platform for job creation, innovation and long-term economic growth.