Rural Youth Empowerment Through the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Program Model Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment Support Services (YESS): The Case of the Miduana Indigenous Community in Indonesia

The increasing age of farmers and the low participation of youth in the agricultural sector threaten the sustainability of agricultural management and rural development. The effects are more pronounced in indigenous communities that prioritize local wisdom in natural resource management, which is often overlooked by the younger generation who prefer modern approaches, including in agricultural activities. This situation has drawn to the attention of the Indonesian government, which, through a collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture and the International Fund of Agricultural Development, has designed and implemented a rural youth empowerment program through an agricultural entrepreneurship model (YESS) in indigenous communities. Modern knowledge of agricultural potential development embedded in an entrepreneurial system is being introduced to rural youth using an appropriate approach. Taking the example of the Miduana indigenous village in Cianjur, West Java, it can be concluded that the YESS approach has successfully motivated rural youth to actively manage agricultural resources in line with local wisdom, which is still firmly upheld as a guideline. Through the trickle-down effect, it is hoped that more rural youth will participate, ultimately becoming the main actors in agricultural and rural development, particularly in the Miduana indigenous village.