Help the youth to gain from agrifood systems

When they are given the appropriate support and enabling environment, young people in Africa can take advantage of new opportunities, develop innovative solutions, and contribute to building sustainable and resilient agrifood systems, according to a UN report released in 2022.

Africa as a region has the highest percentage of youth in the world with an estimated 420 million people aged 15 to 35, and its share of rural youth is projected to rise to 37% by 2050.

Young people as producers and traders of food, as workers, innovators and entrepreneurs, and as policy actors are already playing an important role in agrifood systems. But they face a range of age-specific vulnerabilities and difficulties, and those living in rural and underdeveloped areas face additional challenges, including fewer opportunities to access quality education and vocational training, and lack of access to information, decent jobs, land, finance and markets. They are exposed to hazardous work and have insufficient opportunities to participate in policy dialogues and other decision-making processes. They are also confronted with broader challenges in rural areas such as the lack of, or limited access to, basic infrastructure and services, Internet connectivity, and environmental degradation.

Youth as a group is diverse. It is a dynamically changing group characterised not only by age but also by a set of intersectional dimensions, such as gender, education, wealth, ethnicity, health and geographic location. Additionally, it is important to recognise that young people are more likely than adults to migrate, and their life course often includes periods of mobility and migration, which has an impact on their level of engagement in agriculture and food systems over time.