EOI - Youth Agri-Entrepreneurship Program in Uttar Pradesh

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About the Organization

UNICEF, the United Nations agency for children, works to protect the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged and those hardest to reach. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we do whatever it takes to help children survive, thrive and fulfil their potential.

We provide and advocate for education, health and nutrition services. Protect children from violence and abuse. Bring clean water and sanitation to those in need. And keep them safe from climate change and disease.

About the Proposal

Agriculture remains the primary livelihood for rural youth in Uttar Pradesh, yet rising climate risks, erratic monsoons, heatwaves, water scarcity, and crop failure continue to undermine productivity and income security. UP’s smallholder farmers, who form the majority, face significant barriers to adopting climate-smart practices: limited access to inputs, lack of reliable advisory, and absence of affordable protected cultivation models. Simultaneously, rural youth face unemployment and migration pressures, with limited pathways to build sustainable enterprises in agriculture. Most existing programs equip youth with training but do not provide long-term income opportunities, mentorship, or enterprise support. One proven solution is youth-led agri-entrepreneurship using climate-resilient technologies. UNICEF, in collaboration with technical partners aims to create a unique opportunity to build a cadre of youth agri-entrepreneurs delivering climate-resilient farming at scale while generating sustained income for themselves and their communities.

Expected Results

Train 150 youth to become first-generation climate-smart agri-entrepreneurs • Enable adoption of protected cultivation and high-value crops • Increase farmer incomes by 30–40% • Develop youth leadership in rural sustainability • Create a scalable model that can be integrated into UP’s horticulture and livelihood programs

Scope of Work for Implementation Partner

• Mobilize and select 150 youth (18–29 years) with an interest in agriculture and entrepreneurship, ensuring inclusion of women and marginalized groups.
• Deliver end-to-end training on climate-smart agriculture, business planning, financial literacy, greenhouse management, market linkages, and digital tools for farm management.
• Facilitate installation and adoption of Greenhouse-in-a-Box for 150 smallholder farmers, ensuring proper technical onboarding, usage demonstrations, and after-sale support.
• Provide ongoing agronomy advisory on crop planning, pest management, irrigation scheduling, and input optimization to reduce water use and chemical intensity.
• Create monitoring and reporting systems to track adoption, crop performance, income gains, water savings, and environmental impact.
• Support government engagement by sharing data, insights, and implementation templates for future scale-up across Uttar Pradesh.

How to Apply

Application Deadline Dec 29, 2025

For more information on this partnership opportunity, and to apply, please visit UN Partner Portal

For more information please check the Link

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Tags Entrepreneurship Food, Agriculture and Nutrition Others