Drivers of youth engagement in agriculture: Insights from Guatemala, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda

Drivers of youth engagement in agriculture: Insights from Guatemala, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda PDF Author: Babu, Suresh Chandra
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 29

Book Description
Engaging burgeoning youth populations in developing country agriculture is seen as an important strategy toward effective, efficient, and sustainable food system transformation. Yet the policy, institutional, technological, and capability barriers and ways to overcome them for successful participation of youth in agriculture are not fully understood. We use a conceptual framework that identifies key pathways to prosperity for youth and classifies contextual and driving factors that contribute to the success of youth engagement in agriculture. The framework comprises four broad categories of strategic interventions: policy and socioeconomic environment; institutional; technological/business infrastructure; and individual skills and capacities. In the context of this framework, we then present insights from cases of youth participation in agriculture in five countries: Guatemala, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda. The countries and cases were purposively selected as part of ongoing research on youth engagement in agriculture. Policies and strategies play an important role in creating an enabling environment for youth engagement in agriculture, including by fostering transparency and accountability in the policy system and promoting youth engagement in the private sector through agricultural extension and other services. Institutions and intermediaries provide financial support, training, and access to market for youth entrepreneurs. Support in these areas should be strengthened. Systems approaches, such as multi-stakeholder platforms, provide holistic support to young agripreneurs (entrepreneurs in agriculture), but require effective coordination. Similarly, information and communication technologies can play a facilitating role by providing platforms to network and receive updated market information but need to be significantly scaled up. Individual capacities can drive youth engagement in agriculture and agripreneurship but must continue to be built up through expanded education and training on technical and functional skills. As policymakers and program managers search for interventions that can promote youth involvement in agriculture in their own countries, the insights from the five countries examined that are presented in this paper may be useful for identifying context-specific challenges and pathways to successful youth engagement in agriculture in their own countries. The framework presented here can be applied to study youth engagement issues in any country or in sub-national, decentralized contexts to generate evidence to guide the design of youth-in-agriculture development programs. There is a need to support, strengthen, and implement the driving factors identified in this paper for expanding youth engagement in agriculture.

2012 Global Food Policy Report

2012 Global Food Policy Report PDF Author: International Food Policy Research Institute
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN: 0896295532
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 142

Book Description
This 2012 Global Food Policy Report is the second in an annual series that provides an in-depth look at major food policy developments and events. Initiated in response to resurgent interest in food security, the series offers a yearly overview of the food policy developments that have contributed to or hindered progress in food and nutrition security. It reviews what happened in food policy and why, examines key challenges and opportunities, shares new evidence and knowledge, and highlights emerging issues. In 2012, world food security remained vulnerable. While talk about hunger and malnutrition was plentiful, it remains to be seen whether current and past commitments to invest in agriculture, food security, and nutrition will be met. New data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations suggest that the world will fall short of achieving the first Millennium Development Goal of halving the prevalence of undernutrition by 2015. Translating commitments into action is thus even more urgent.

Agriculture and youth in Nigeria: Aspirations, challenges, constraints, and resilience

Agriculture and youth in Nigeria: Aspirations, challenges, constraints, and resilience PDF Author: ElDidi, Hagar
Publisher: Intl Food Policy Res Inst
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 71

Book Description
Nigeria’s rural youth are facing various challenges in agriculture, with limited job opportunities outside the sector. Using qualitative focus group discussions and individual interviews with youth in four communities in two Nigerian states, the paper reflects on nuanced differences in perceptions of opportunities, coping mechanisms and overall resilience of youth in rural Nigeria, as well as differential access to information, inputs and irrigation based on age, gender and community. We apply the GCAN framework, to illustrate the factors that shape resilience pathways in the context of climate change and other shocks and stressors. Many of the constraints rural youth face are faced by other groups, including lack of finance, farm inputs and modern equipment for production and processing. Yet, youth face higher and specific hurdles related to lack of capital, experience and a strong social capital and networks that would facilitate coping with climatic and other shocks and improving their livelihoods. Young women in particular have less access to information and irrigation, and are less likely to benefit from cooperative memberships. Nevertheless, young men and women have higher resilience compared to older groups in terms of health, mobility and ability to migrate, as well as easier access to the internet as a source of information. Youth can better build resilience and a network and receive government assistance when part of a cooperative. Nevertheless, a larger enabling environment in the sector is needed, to improve roads, access to markets, information, inputs and equipment to support young farmers who cannot leave the agriculture sector. A promising factor is that many young men and women realize the importance of agriculture and aspire to become successful in the sector.

Youth and Agriculture

Youth and Agriculture PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251084750
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 128

Book Description
Young people account for a large percentage of the rural population, and are often unemployed or underemployed, despite the need for labour force in agriculture. Rural youth face many hurdles in trying to earn a livelihood. They do not perceive agriculture as a remunerative or prestigious profession, and until they find meaningful economic opportunities and attractive environments in rural areas, they will continue to migrate to cities. This trend not only contributes to the emerging phenomenon of over-urbanization and growing unemployment in urban areas, but is also expected to affect global food production. Investing in young people living in rural areas is therefore key to enhancing agricultural productivity, boosting rural economies and ensuring food security. This publication provides real life examples on how to re-engage youth in agriculture. It shows how tailor-made educational programmes can provide rural youth with the skills and insights needed to engage in farming and adopt environmentally friendly production methods. Many of the initiatives and approaches reported in this study originate from the youth themselves. The following study was a joint undertaking of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).

Protecting Youth at Work

Protecting Youth at Work PDF Author: National Research Council and Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309174309
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 334

Book Description
In Massachusetts, a 12-year-old girl delivering newspapers is killed when a car strikes her bicycle. In Los Angeles, a 14-year-old boy repeatedly falls asleep in class, exhausted from his evening job. Although children and adolescents may benefit from working, there may also be negative social effects and sometimes danger in their jobs. Protecting Youth at Work looks at what is known about work done by children and adolescents and the effects of that work on their physical and emotional health and social functioning. The committee recommends specific initiatives for legislators, regulators, researchers, and employers. This book provides historical perspective on working children and adolescents in America and explores the framework of child labor laws that govern that work. The committee presents a wide range of data and analysis on the scope of youth employment, factors that put children and adolescents at risk in the workplace, and the positive and negative effects of employment, including data on educational attainment and lifestyle choices. Protecting Youth at Work also includes discussions of special issues for minority and disadvantaged youth, young workers in agriculture, and children who work in family-owned businesses.

Youth and Agriculture

Youth and Agriculture PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789290815587
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 105

Book Description


The Outlook for Rural Youth

The Outlook for Rural Youth PDF Author: Oliver Edwin Baker
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 86

Book Description


Agriculture Handbook

Agriculture Handbook PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agriculture
Languages : en
Pages : 68

Book Description
Set includes revised editions of some issues.

Farm Work for City Youth

Farm Work for City Youth PDF Author: United States. Department of Agriculture
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Agricultural laborers
Languages : en
Pages : 28

Book Description


Hear it from the countries

Hear it from the countries PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251375445
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 64

Book Description
Young people are key agents of change, with enormous innovation potential. FAO recognizes that youth are already at the frontline to build more sustainable agrifood systems and are best placed to rejuvenate the sector, acquire the knowledge and skills needed to innovate, uptake new technologies, and spearhead the digital transformation. The Organization provides support to countries to develop more youth-inclusive policies, strategies, investments and programmes, in order to enhance the overall well-being of young women and men. This compendium of good practices brings together snapshots of selected FAO's youth-specific projects, activities and products in support of the Rural Youth Action Plan (RYAP) first biennium of implementation (2021–2022).