The Missing Link: Youth Entrepreneurship to Bridge Agriculture’s Innovation Valley of Death

World hunger remains a consistent global challenge due to varying agricultural yields, unequal access to nutritious foods, and distributional challenges. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2024 State of Food Insecurity and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report projects “582 million people will be chronically undernourished at the end of the decade, more than half of them in Africa” (FAO et al., 2024). Meeting development and growing nutritional needs must be met with innovative solutions that are fully carried out from the conceptual phase to the field.

Bolstering total factor productivity (TFP) growth in agriculture is imperative to addressing food and nutritional needs while also achieving our environmental and economic growth goals. Increasing TFP growth implies fewer inputs are used to produce the same or increased outputs. TFP growth can contribute to increased affordability of food, quality of diets, and socioeconomic status. Agricultural market competitiveness, rural economic prosperity, food affordability, sustainable resource utilization, and adaptability to climate change advance when TFP growth increases. All are factors in determining food supply stability, hence TFP growth leads to stronger nutritional outcomes and economic prosperity.

The “Valley of Death,” a situation where “emerging and proven tools remain stuck on the shelf, unable to advance from conceptual research to commercialization and widespread adoption,” is one of the biggest barriers to boosting TFP growth. (Agnew et al., 2024). When tools and innovations that enhance productivity get stuck in the Valley of Death, producers’ ability to sustainably increase productivity is constrained.

As the urgency to get innovations “off the shelf” increases, Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) Global Programs and the Global Agricultural Productivity (GAP) Initiative at Virginia Tech sought to discuss ways to help eliminate the effects of the Valley of Death at the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) World Food Forum in October 2024. One of the goals for this discussion was to explore how youth entrepreneurs could help cross the valley of death by leveraging technology transfer and preparing for careers in business leadership. Virginia Tech, in collaboration with Penn State University, invited students and panelists to relay the role of entrepreneurship, IP transfer, and investment to drive youth engagement in agricultural innovation systems.

OFF THE SHELF – YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR INNOVATION SCALING

The “Off the Shelf – Youth Entrepreneurship for Innovation Scaling” panel included industry leaders from Virginia Tech Innovations and Partnerships Office, Plant Village+ (Current and Emerging Threats to Crops Innovation Lab at Penn State), the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Office of Innovation, and HortiNigeria at the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC).

The panelists, Emily Lanier, Brenda Cheptoo, Frankline Areba, Gladys Guevara, and Feyikemi Adurogbanga, offer extensive knowledge and experience in helping start, run, and grow agri-businesses from the ground up starting with the original IP and creating sustainable transformative businesses. The panelists were asked to provide a productive commentary on the issues affecting budding entrepreneurs, especially youth, as they navigate a complex and difficult path to starting a successful and sustainable business that could have a positive impact on global issues such as hunger and malnutrition.

PERSPECTIVES FROM THE PANELISTS

Emily Lanier, Licensing Officer at Virginia Tech Innovations and Partnerships

Lanier has over a decade of experience in academic research, AgTech startups, and innovation consulting. She guides inventors through intellectual property complexities, holding a Ph.D. in plant biochemistry and a B.S. in chemistry. 

Virginia Tech’s LINK + LICENSE + LAUNCH program under the Office of Innovation and Partnerships connects innovators with industry partners, facilitates technology commercialization, and supports startups. It helps translate university innovations into market-ready solutions by managing intellectual property, licensing, and providing entrepreneurial support. 

Emily Lanier discussed the benefits and drawbacks of startups and larger companies and utilizing students for taking innovations to market. “Our ultimate goal is to identify impactful discoveries in the agrifood systems area then find partners to license the inventions that can invest in the time, money, and work to get them out of the Valley of Death. Large companies can be great partners considering there are larger budgets to work with, able to handle a larger time horizon of risk, and have established expertise with large enough teams to carry out the process. However, it is hard to find large companies that are willing to invest in the university technologies since they have well defined business plans and target markets. If the innovation is not completely aligned with the private sector’s needs, it will be hard to find a company willing to invest. On the other hand, startups can take on a greater large amount of risks, where they can utilize government grants, incubators, and venture capital. Passionate entrepreneurs can be the best way to hone these opportunities to bring innovation to a real product. Universities have room to flourish by filling in the talent gap of taking innovations to market.”  

Lanier mentioned, “Universities are far ahead of the private market; however, scientists do not have the funding beyond the initial proof of concept. There is not enough funding to test different kinds of concepts, and do not have the materials to scale up to production level.” Faculty also have immense time constraints, leaving their new and exciting IP stuck on the shelf. The student population is a major source of talent that can take research to market. Students do not have to be scientists to do research. Students also are hungry for opportunities to practice their creativity and entrepreneurial skills to get hands on experience. 

Gladys Morales, Global Head of Innovation at IFAD

Morales previously spearheaded digital transformation projects at Multilateral Development Banks and UN agencies. Morales holds degrees from Columbia Business School, University of Rome, and Georgetown University, and serves as Italy’s Regional Ambassador for the Global Blockchain Business Council.  

The Innovation Office at the International Fund for Agricultural Development promotes the design, creation, and testing of new processes, products, and approaches that add value and sustainably empower rural communities. 

Gladys Morales discussed how innovation is found in everything, including partnerships, policies, and programming processes. Morales heeded the call for transformation, stating, “Initiatives must be jointly developed and implemented. Innovation is not just technology, but new ways of designing and new ways of taking on processes. User-centric approaches do not mean taking end-product surveys, instead, they have a seat at the table where we design with and for the users. We deploy participatory approaches that are demand driven and respond to the needs of governments and end users. The IFAD Innovation Office offers financing, skills building, and capacity development.”  

Morales also mentioned how innovation cannot exist without policies providing the space to do so. She states innovation hubs, international agencies, and youth must “work together so that policies and regulations can respond to the needs of youth and startups. It is about skills development, capacity, building, and dialogue with policymakers so that there is room for startups to prosper.” 

An ecosystem approach, which aligns with the 2024 GAP Report’s recommendation to bundle innovations, is a core pillar of IFAD’s support process. The ecosystem approach is crucial for making sure all the end user’s needs are met, and that products and services are tailored exactly to them. “By ensuring that you have that ecosystem development approach where you look at what are all the possible interactions that the farmer has throughout the day? What are all the possible solutions that we need to think of, so that we are really addressing resilience and really increasing incomes and giving new opportunities for market access,” said Morales.

Brenda Cheptoo, Commercial Director at PlantVillage+

Specializing in sustainable agriculture and Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and with a Master’s in Entomology, she established rearing facilities in seven African countries and trains youth in bioagent production, promoting climate-smart agriculture and improving food security for smallholder farmers.  

PlantVillage+ is an organization which originated at Penn State, one of the US land grant universities, that focuses on helping small holder farmers across Asia, Africa, and the Americas combat the growing effects of climate change through various commercial means. 

Brenda Cheptoo’s insights included that natural bio controls can help control other pests, which is crucial as emerging pests affect crops as climate change evolves. Integrated pest management (IPM) addresses specific needs. Youth can sell IPM, turn them into businesses, and solve climate change problems through entrepreneurship. As climate change problems emerge, more tailored solutions are in demand and youth can help provide a more rapid response.

Cheptoo drew a strong connection between PlantVillage+’s work and what Emily Lanier had to say about youth innovation and entrepreneurship in general saying, “It is far too often that we have exciting new technologies that sit on the shelf simply collecting dust and eventually becoming obsolete due to the lack of awareness and opportunity in some areas. She also states that, “there is no lack of young desire to become involved in ventures, which is one of the big areas PlantVillage+ focuses on. For example, they have started a business focused on the production of biological agents to help eliminate pests in a more natural way. This venture has become scaled up into a real and powerful business and serves as a model for future ventures between organizations and youth entrepreneurs.” 

Frankline Areba, Technical Director at PlantVillage+

Areba has trained youth in Kenya and seven other countries in producing and releasing natural enemies for pest control. His work focuses on sustainable, climate-resilient pest management to support smallholder farmers and ensure food security. Frankline holds a Master’s in Entomology and has extensive experience supporting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs. 

Areba highlighted that youth struggle putting the necessary pieces together to create a sustainable and impactful business. They require guidance, support, and a mentor to help instill the values and skills needed to be successful in the business world.  

Areba stated, “Youth are critical to advancing and implementing the new and groundbreaking technologies on a large scale.” There needs to be a grassroots movement where we educate our youth to help empower other youth around the world to not only share their knowledge and expertise but also form those meaningful connections and partnerships to help create sustainable change. Youth are also uniquely positioned to create exposure for these innovations like biologicals through social media where they can use their voice to not only advocate for change but also show off these products. 

Feyikemi Adurogbanga, Communications Coordinator at HortiNigeria Program, IFDC

Feyikemi is a communications specialist with over 13 years of experience, primarily in Nigeria’s NGO sector. As Communications Coordinator for the Dutch-funded HortiNigeria program, she leads strategic initiatives to boost youth and women participation, market access, and awareness on pest management, leveraging storytelling, PR, and digital marketing. 

The HortiNigeria program, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nigeria, aims to facilitate the development of a sustainable and inclusive horticulture sector that contributes to food and nutrition security in Nigeria despite global changes such as climate change and population growth.

Adurogbanga explained how storytelling is an essential tool for articulating value propositions in the right markets. It helps to establish credibility and instill trust in new audiences, thus attracting markets in remote areas, improving advocacy efforts for health care, and making training, capacity building, and good economic practices easier to adopt. PR and digital marketing help entrepreneurs scale their businesses by attracting partners, investors, and consumers. 

“Storytelling is a critical way to help increase buy-in from others around the world. Storytelling has become even more powerful due to the increased adoption of social media. With that in mind, youth and women specifically benefit the most from these types of public communication because of the opportunity for shareability, advocacy and potential to attract a global audience.” By advertising their mission and purpose on social media, these fledgling companies can generate buzz, often leading to stronger buy-in from customers.  

RECOMMENDATIONS FROM STUDENTS 

Based on the panel discussion, the participating Virginia Tech and Penn State students offer 3 recommendations for youth and students to be positioned as entrepreneurs that can transfer technology out of the lab and into the field. 

1. Increasing and improving public-private partnerships and partnerships with academic institutions is critical to empowering young people, especially students, to become entrepreneurs.

Through this tripartite alliance, emerging professionals and entrepreneurs can gain better funding and support through the private sector from corporations such as Bayer Crop Science, John Deere, and Corteva Agriscience to help sustain fledgling businesses through various internships as well as entrepreneurial programs. The public sector can provide the policy and infrastructure framework crucial in the implementation stage of a business or technology. The public sector should also help facilitate global collaborations to ensure that these innovations are not just successful in one region, but are scalable and adaptable across cultures and contexts, and create our desired impact on malnutrition. Lastly, by including academia in these multi-sector collaborations, young people gain access to mentors, advisors, and experts in their field. As well as a wide range of perspectives, knowledge of potential hurdles, and a safer space to make mistakes. This is the time where innovations can be made and first taken off the shelf to begin the process of becoming an entrepreneur for young people. By receiving guidance from the public sector, funding from corporations, and the mentorship of professors from university institutions, this tripartite alliance could directly be implemented in a productive and replicable manner.  

2. Creating classes at universities focused on technology transfer, entrepreneurship, and social impact would be an entry point to cultivating the mindset amongst youth and establishing this multi-sectoral cooperation.

This could be driven by industry partnerships and the mentorship of professors and industry leaders who not only educate on the skills and ways to be successful as an entrepreneur in a certain field, but also could provide actual hands on experience that introduces students and other young people to the successes as well as failures one must endure on their entrepreneurial journey. Additionally, these programs could be designed to emphasize not only the technical skills required to be successful, but also the administrative side to these ventures. Financing and program development are huge in commercialization and adoption strategies, which require a sound business plan to attract investors and thus requires some level of knowledge in this field. To get these important innovations out of the conceptualization stage and into the real world, it will require youth to not only have a sound technical background in their field, but also the knowledge on how important partnerships and cooperation between organization can be ensure long-term impact as well as financial success. 

3. Leveraging information technology, specifically social media, will be a key driver in success, especially as the world continues to become more digitalized.

Social media is a universal form of communication that can cross physical, social, and even language barriers. Increased digital dissemination of opportunities to engage in technology transfer and entrepreneurship will facilitate inclusion and diverse participation globally. Marginalized groups, specifically youth, women, and smallholder farmers, lack access to markets, innovation scaling, digital technologies, and marketing resources. With that in mind, these minority groups need greater representation during transformation discussions as shown throughout various FAO reports. By further utilizing this form of communication, we will be able to help small holder farmers and entrepreneurs of all backgrounds better adapt to changing technologies by showing them in real time the effects these innovations are having on productivity and thus what it could do for their own livelihoods.