“We need to take action to make agriculture more attractive to young people. They must perceive agriculture as a remunerative and profitable sector and the dissemination of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in rural areas play an important role in this regard,” he added.
His remarks came at the opening of the international conference titled Youth Employment in Agriculture as a Solid Solution to ending Hunger and Poverty in Africa, which took place in Kigali. The two-day event, co-organised by the Government of Rwanda, the African Union and FAO, has a special focus on youth employment, ICTs and entrepreneurship.
Other keynote speakers included Geraldine Mukeshimana, Rwanda’s minister of agriculture and animal resources; Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, African Union commissioner for rural economy and agriculture, and Li Yong, director general, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation.
As Africa’s population grows, so will the demand for food
Graziano da Silva noted that the food demand in Africa is projected to grow by over 50 per cent in the coming years, due to continued population growth, rapid urbanisation, and dietary changes as household incomes rise. The World Bank expects African agribusinesses to create a market worth $1 trillion by 2030.
“The agricultural sectors have thus an invaluable and untapped potential to address the youth unemployment challenge, but it is well-known that young people seeking to gain a decent livelihood from agriculture face numerous constraints,” Graziano da Silva said.
He noted how young people are usually employed on a casual or seasonal basis, with limited access to relevant education and technical training; limited access to finance, information and markets, and low involvement in decision-making processes.
“These constraints become a bottleneck that also impede young people to start an agricultural business of their own. As a result, young rural people are migrating,” Graziano da Silva added.
Preparing young people to enter the job market
“In the coming years, more and more of the agricultural activities and employment will require digital skills,” the FAO chief said.
“Cooperatives or other forms of association represent the best way to provide family farmers and young professionals with technical assistance, capacity-building and access to modern technologies,” he added.
Graziano da Silva also said that there is a need to think beyond farm jobs, and to explore employment opportunities across the agri-food chain. The increasing demand for high-value products in urban areas also offer multiple employment opportunities in processing, distribution, marketing and retailing of food products.
Achieving this requires a new kind of rural transformation, which means equipping rural areas with basic services such as education, health, electricity, Internet access and so on.
“These services are themselves another important source for employment, especially for women and young people,” Graziano da Silva said.
FAO’s role
The FAO chief told the conference participants that the United Nations’ agency will continue to strengthen its activities to support countries in realising the potential of agriculture and food systems to create more job opportunities for youth.
In particular, the FAO can help countries to develop and implement legal and regulatory frameworks and services for youth's inclusion as well as training to young people in financial literacy, business development and management, as well as in innovative digital finance solutions.
