Youth Agribusiness & Technology Advancement (YATA) is a private, autonomous, voluntary, non-governmental, non-partisan, and non-profit sharing social business investment organization envisioning a knowledge and skills-based, equitable, environment and health-mindful prosperous society. As a non-governmental organization, Youth Agribusiness & Technology Advancement (YATA) has Tanzania registration Number 00NGO/R/8515 and is mandated to operate in Mainland Tanzania in accordance with the constitution of the organization.

The founding ofYouth Agribusiness & Technology Advancement (YATA) in 2017 was triggered by the concern of its founders that although Tanzania introduced, in 1967, its self-reliance development and education philosophy, yet after fifty years, that is by 2017 education provision is yet to realize its original mission. Youth Agribusiness & Technology Advancement (YATA) offers itself the challenge to give the philosophy another chance of fifty years to 2067, to transform the mindsets of future generations by offering an education that practically merges theoretical education with skills that are immediately applied in actual productive work within the vicinity of the schools. Hence, the parallel establishment of  YATA Schools (nursery, primary, secondary, and vocational training) with school farms, crop processing project, herbal gardens for medicinal plants, environmental conservation, and Tanzania greening with tree planting initiatives, conservation of water sources and waterfronts, and initiatives for alternative energy to reduce the degradation of the environment.

Mission & Vision

Mission

To empower Tanzanian rural communities to engage in social business investment through quality education and skills training, modern agricultural production practices, crop processing and conservation of medicinal and other plants of economic importance.

Vision

To have communities that are educated, skilled and healthy and create and promote social businesses for improved productivity, quality service provision and conservation of traditional herbal shrubs and other plants.

Core Values 

The core values of  Youth Agribusiness & Technology Advancement (YATA) are Integrity, reliability, respect for human rights and interpersonal relations, time management, equality, transparency, accountability, professionalism, quality, and meritocracy.

The organization lives out these core values by:

• Demonstrating and Sharing the values in all interactions with stakeholders
• Periodically revisiting and refocusing the values for greater responsiveness of society expectations
• Confronting and promptly redressing undesirable behaviors among all Youth Agribusiness & Technology Advancement (YATA) stakeholders
• Establishing mechanisms to collect feedback from stakeholders for internal further improvement.

Main Functions

According to the 2017 constitution, which established Youth Agribusiness & Technology Advancement (YATA), the main functions of the organization are to engage in social business investments impacting society through the promotion of quality education, modern farming and livestock practices, crop processing to add value, green environment through tree planting, conservation of medicinal plants, conservation of water sources and cleanliness of waterfronts and the use of alternative energy.

Specifically, the organization aims:

• To undertake community-based research for development in education and training, farming and livestock practices and crop processing, conditions of the environment and health condition of the people and  collect and conserve medicinal and other economically important traditional trees, herbs, and other plants
• To promote quality education, talent identification and development as well as training in microfinance, entrepreneurship and general skills through establishment and management of competence and skills based nursery, primary, and secondary schools and vocational training facilities
• To engage in and promote modern agricultural and production practices, crop processing, packaging and search for viable and paying market outlets,

To promote green encompassment and clean environments through the establishment and management of the following projects:

• YATA Herbal Gardens Project
• YATA Green Tanzania Project
• YATA 2050 Clean Waterfronts
• YATA 2050 Alternative Energy Initiative

Key Promoters

The key founder and promoter of  Youth Agribusiness & Technology Advancement (YATA) is Mr. Andrew Christopher Sabaya.

Mr. Andrew Christopher Sabaya is an expert in strategic project planning, budgeting, fundraising, and general mobilization and control of human, material, and financial resources; business and time management; team building, logistics, and marketing of products and services, as well as customer satisfaction, negotiation, and arbitration skills.

Andrew is a holder of an MBA in Organizational Management from Cambridge International College and an Associate Degree in Business Administration majoring in Marketing from Waldorf College. He is a member of the Institute of Marketing UK (MIM) and for over the years, has captured 107 profitable contracts for the firm he worked for, been awarded the Japanese Tobacco International Award on Innovation – 2008, and received the Certificate of Merit from Youth Agribusiness Empowerment. The project stands to be in safe hands under the able management of Andrew Sabaya.

Read more about Youth Agribusiness & Technology Advancement (YATA) leadership here