Feeding the future
How to inspire the next generation of farmers
The global population is expected to reach over 9 billion by 2050, with an estimated 6 people out of 10 living in cities. With such a big population to feed, who will produce our food and ensure that everyone has enough to eat?
Engaging youth in agriculture has become one of the hot topics of development for this very reason: youth are the future of agriculture. Yet many of them think of agriculture as a hard job without economic rewards or career advancement and they prefer to move to cities looking for better opportunities.
However, it is unlikely that urban areas alone can provide jobs for everyone while rural areas will continue to offer plenty of opportunities in agriculture. With the right technical and entrepreneurial skills, young people could explore new opportunities and make lucrative and successful careers in agriculture.
In 2015 the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) heard directly from youth on ways to support the next generation of agricultural producers.
These are the top lessons learnt from discussions with youth and youth organizations.
Investing in training
Whether through formal schooling or informal learning practices, investing in education and training always pays off.
The Committee discovered that often youth lack access to training in important agricultural, entrepreneurial and financial skills that would allow them to build successful agribusiness. Programmes such as FAO Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools or the IFAD Enterprise Your Life curriculum can make a difference in young people’s lives.
The best learning outcomes can be achieved through a mix of formal training such as vocational schools and informal knowledge transfers like mentorship programmes, discussion groups and experimentation. It is therefore important to support learning both inside and outside formal institutions to enable young talent to acquire hard and soft skills vital for their future.
Encourage collaboration between universities and farmers
Future agriculture specialists should combine agricultural expertise with hands-on experience in the field. For this reason networks between young professionals, university students and family farmers are key to assure effective exchange of information, experience and knowledge and ultimately they can be beneficial to everyone involved.
Students and young researchers can develop practical knowledge of the day-to-day reality and challenges faced by farmers, while farmers benefit from the up-to-date theoretical knowledge of students and agricultural professional.
Leverage technology
Technology can also play an important role in developing youth’s skills, improving communication and access to information in rural areas. Programmes such as the student-led Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Agriculture Nepal,aimed at extending such technologies in remote areas, have proved to be quite successful in providing up-to-date information on market prices and agricultural innovations dissemination through videos and SMS systems. ICTs can also provide invaluable help in connecting smallholder farmers to markets through ecommerce websites. An example of this is the Senegalese site Sooretul, where home made goods produced by rural women such as conserves, flours and even cosmetics are sold online, allowing Senegalese people to consume local products while providing an income to rural families.
Promote an enabling environment
The world cannot afford a future where young people have limited opportunities to access attractive and remunerative opportunities in a modern, knowledge-intensive agriculture sector. For this reason, CFS addresses the specific needs of youth in its policy guidance, for example on promoting an enabling environment where young people can thrive and prosper in responsible agricultural investments, in governance of tenure in land, fisheries and forests, and in ensuring food security and nutrition in protracted crises.
There are many challenges lying ahead, but young farmers may well hold the key to a future without hunger and malnutrition, and only by empowering them we can truly make use of their potential.
This article is based on the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) “Developing the Knowledge, Skills and Talent of Youth to further Food Security and Nutrition”.
This document provides case studies from different regions, that set out the challenges, successes and lessons learned relating to the development of knowledge, skills and capacity for youth in agriculture
