In the American reality television series, Shark Tank, entrepreneurs pitch their business presentations to a panel of investors or “sharks.”  The “sharks” then decide whether to invest in the projects. 

In real life, incarcerated youth in central Africa's Nkongsamba Detention Facility in the Moungo Department of Cameroon, area pitch their agri-business proposals to AgriStars' distinguished panel of experts--including UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey of the Department of Entomology and Nematology--for monetary prizes and project mentoring.

AgriStars, a 2022 pilot program of the Agriculture for Africa (A4A), is the brainchild of global scholar Vijitha Mahadevan Eyango, a UC Davis-UCLA alumna and founder of A4A, a U.S. nongovernmental organization. 

“AgriStars is a program implementing agricultural education curriculum with one of Africa's most marginalized groups—incarcerated youth,” Eyango said.  “AgriStars is patterned after the values and missions of the Future Farmers of America and the 4-H programs.” 

The inaugural competition, held in April, drew 100 applicants, with 25 advancing to the semi-finals and 10 named as winners. Their proposals ranged from pig farming to honey (beekeeping). 

“For me, the single most interesting part of my involvement withAgriStars and particularly my serving on the judging panel was learning about many aspects of African agriculture, not from corporate perspectives, but directly from the young people who were trying to make a living in Cameroonian villages,” said Carey, who co-designed AgriStars with Eyango. He hatched the shark-tank concept, donated funds from his summer teaching salary, and served as a judge. 

 “It was truly a learning experience for me as AgriStar participants gave their pitches on a wide range of innovative ideas involving West African agriculture ranging from pig, chicken, and fish rearing to mushroom, honey and wine production," Carey said. "Inasmuch as the pitches were as interesting and entertaining as they were educational and enlightening, we are exploring the future possibility posting selected pitches on YouTube as a crowdfunding and thus self-sustaining enterprise.” 

AgriStars awarded the winners a total of $15,000 in monetary prizes, plus mentoring from experts in their fields. All finalists received UC Davis baseball caps, gifts from Carey, and AgriStars T-shirts.  A press conference, drawing local, regional and national news media, followed.

The Eyango Food Company, headed by CEO and Cameroon musician icon Prince Ndedi Eyango (Vijitha's husband), co-sponsored the event with A4A, AgriStars and UC Davis (Carey). 

Carey recently participated in the certification of the second cohort of A4A Agripreneurs at the Nkongsamba prison, held some six months after the competition. The program included congratulatory speeches, native dances, a prison sports exhibition, and performances by celebrated singer-musician Prince Eyango, a Cameroonian singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer whose titles include “Best Artist of the Year."

“We drew local and national news media coverage, and interest of high-level politicians, the U.S. Embassy and others,” said Carey, who was among those delivering a congratulatory speech. He is a frequent visitor to Africa, where he delivers workshops and seminars as part of the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA). 

UCLA distinguished professor Thomas Smith, director of the Congo Basin Institute (CBI), and a core advisor to A4A, introduced the two global educators--Eyango and Carey--in October 2021.  “Our introduction jumpstarted a series of intense discussions,” Eyango recalled, “and by January 2022, we had co-designed AgriStars.” 

They set out to “build capacity, confidence and business skills of entrepreneurial youth, develop new talents in the agriculture sector and serve as an opportunity to executive a winning agribusiness concept to win an opportunity for a cash prize and mentorship,” Eyango said. 

A4A, which Eyango founded in November 2020,  sponsors “programs in agriculture, entrepreneurship, social justice and education,” she explained. “Working in partnership within the public and private sectors, and harnessing the power of the markets, A4A provides a wraparound agricultural leadership and rehabilitation that capitalizes on mentorship, training and group activities, aimed at empowering vulnerable youth to lead productive lives.” 

In a UCLA article published June 12, 2022, David Colgan, director of communications for the UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, described A4A as a "program that teaches 25-and-younger incarcerated people in the fertile Nkongsamba region to farm--a skill that can help them stay out of prison once they leave...Resources are limited in Cameroon, which is home to a displaced population of 2 million seeking refuge from war and insecurity in neighboring countries including Chad, Central African Republic and Nigeria. Food insecurity is a big problem, and a root cause of crimes that land many young people in prison."

Core goals of A4A are "to give young people marketable skills to keep them from returning to jail," Colgan pointed out. The participants gain "an improved sense of self-worth, confidence and the ability to see a better future."

Thus, the birth of the A4A offspring, AgriStars.

The inaugural AgriStars' competition was open not only to incarcerated youth, but to all youth in the Nkongsamba, so as not to incentivize stints in prison in order to apply, the organizers said. Most AgriStars participants were serving time for minor crimes, mainly theft.

Eyango credits Carey as being “instrumental in its success and is our UC Davis partner. His institutional commitment enabled A4A to elicit regional and local government and private sector co-sharing a sponsorship.” 

A 1987 graduate of UC Davis,Eyango received her bachelor's degree in international relations and affairs. She went on to obtain two degrees atUCLA: her master's degree in African studies and urban planning (1990) and her doctorate (1995) in international and comparative education (1995). As a member of the UCLA faculty, she taught international development studies for 10 years  (1995-2001 and 2014-2018).  Between 2009-2014 she served as chief of education with UNICEF, Cameroon.

Eyango's career includes administrative positions in UNICEF (United Nations' Children's Fund), USAID  (U.S. Agency for International Development) and IREX, a nonprofit global development and educational organization. For her global efforts, Eyango received the prestigious Swanee Hunt Award for Advancing Women's Role in Policy Formulation in 2004 from the U. S. State Department.  She also won commendation awards from former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and from President Bill Clinton. 

Carey, a 42-year member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, is known as an innovative teacher. Over the last decade, he has developed a technological-savvy teaching program, a groundbreaking model for 21st Century instruction using short, concise videos. He teaches administrators, faculty, staff, and students how to create the succinct videos, and how to record seminars. All are geared toward ease of learning and increased knowledge retention. 

(For more information, watch the AgriStars video that Carey created.)