By Grace Mwaura

The challenge for Africa is that of human capital, not the absence, but the disempowerment of it. I address this challenge in relation to African agriculture and food security in the continent, and with a focus on young people. This paper highlights the African youthful population as the world’s future farmers, entrepreneurs and leaders who require sustained investments in their capacity.  The paper highlights how this population can be attracted and retained in productive agriculture related ventures through education, training and mentoring. The paper makes use of ethnographically collected data during the periods of 2010 and 2011 in Kenya, and secondary data on young people and development in Africa. The paper also illustrates programmes that are already working following the highlighted principles of human capital development. Through this paper, I open up debate and research questions into the capacity of young people in African development and governance.