ANNEX II
RURAL YOUTH AND YOUNG FARMERS - AN FAO PERSPECTIVE^*

INTRODUCTION

This Consultation focuses attention on the rural youth and young farmers in the developing countries of the world. As a contribution to the Consultation, this paper attempts to present an FAO perspective of rural youth and young farmers in the developing world. The paper is presented as a basis for discussion. It aims open an exploration of the best options in strengthening programmes for rural youth and young farmers in developing countries at a time and in a world of limited resources.

Recognizing the importance of meeting the needs and aspirations of youth, the United Nations General Assembly designated 1985 as International Youth Year: Participation, Development and Peace. An understanding of the current situation and likely prospects can lead to the promotion of the best vocational, educational, occupational and living conditions for young men and women in order to ensure their active participation in over-all development and peace. As far as FAO is concerned, this is all the more important since many countries do not have specific policies and programmes for rural youth and young farmers as part of their over-all development strategy and plan.

The present situation of rural youth in developing countries can generally be characterized by illiteracy, lack of educational and training opportunities, unemployment, under-employment and the flight of large numbers of rural youth to the cities. This situation is likely to deteriorate if a significant effort is not made to improve it. Already young people are bearing a disproportionate burden of the growing austerity afflicting the entire world.

In recent years, the adequacy of educational policies and programmes as the main vehicle of national youth development has been called into question. In many countries, educated youth are dissatisfied with the irrelevance of available learning opportunities. Despite continued expansion of educational facilities, evidence indicates that, for the foreseeable future, the absolute numbers of persons of school age who are not in school and not employed will continue to increase.

The number of females enrolled in school has increased substantially during the past several years. However, girls continue to be a minority among students at all levels, particularly in developing countries. The problem is more serious in rural areas, where the dropout rate among females is especially high at the primary school level. Existing curricula in rural schools continue to provide female students with relatively little preparation in agricultural and rural development.

The important question is, given that traditional solutions to the problems of rural youth have not worked, how can the needs, rights, potentials and responsibilities of youth be effectively addressed in national and local development plans and programmes? How can opportunities for young people be created and increased for meaningful participation in the development of their communities and countries?

YOUTH IN AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

In the less developed regions, the rural sector makes up approximately two-thirds of the population. More than half are children and youth. Current estimates indicate that the youth age 15 to 24 comprise 19 percent of the rural population. When 10 to 14 year olds are included in the youth category, this percentage increases to 32 percent of the rural population.

These population distribution figures underscore the place and importance of youth in agricultural and rural development. In identifying the intended beneficiaries of rural development the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD) identified, among others, rural youth as a group requiring special attention within the overall development effort. According to the WCARRD, women and rural youth have "particular problems which may not be adequately dealt with through undifferentiated (development) programmes."

In the context of agricultural and rural development, rural youth deserve attention in three respects, namely, as beneficiaries of development, as participant/contributors and as future adult contributors to agricultural and rural development.

As Beneficiaries

All rural youth have the need to grow into healthy, educated and productive citizens in their own locality. Every family, community and nation has the obligation to devote a fair measure of its resources and programmes so that youth are well fed, nourished and healthy, well informed, trained and educated for progressive living and possess the skills and abilities required in their society.

The question for many countries is how are rural youth benefitting from local and national rural development programmes? In many rural areas the majority of youth drop out of school before reaching the secondary level. Those who stay longer in school get training more related to the urban way of life than to making a better life in the rural environment. Opportunities for learning practical skills in agriculture, better rural living, and income-generating activities are extremely limited. For youth and young farmers, access to production resources, credit and employment is almost non-existent in most countries.

As Contributor/Participant

The rural youth have an important responsibility for their own development and well-being as well as for the improvement of their locality. Because of their energy, enthusiasm and relatively uncommitted time, rural youth (male and female) are a valuable human resource for agricultural and rural development. Given the opportunity, organization, direction and support rural youth can participate and contribute significantly to agricultural and rural development, and learn in the process.

In most developing countries it is doubtful whether rural youth are productively and educationally involved in agricultural and community development. When rural youth are involved, the following questions should be asked Are they participating regardless of sex and socio-economic status? Is care being taken to avoid the possibility of labour exploitation among the youth in the name of development?

As Future Adults

As future adult participants in agricultural and rural development, rural youth need to be prepared in: (a) improving their capabilities to produce food and to conserve productive resources in the rural environment, (b) improving skills and abilities in undertaking income-generating activities in rural areas, (c) relieving population pressure and improving nutrition and the well-being of farming families and (d) developing leadership and the ability to work well with others in group and community situations.

At the present stage of experience in many countries, there is a lack of awareness concerning the needs of rural youth as they try to prepare for an active, productive and efficient life in the rural environment. Many of these countries have no functional programmes to effectively meet these needs.

MAGNITUDE OF RURAL YOUTH POTENTIAL AND PROBLEM

Some Global Dimensions

The United Nations defines youth as young men and women from age 15 through 24. In the following discussion, the term youth has been expanded to include the group of young people, male and female, married or single, from age 10 through 24. It is unrealistic to discuss a comprehensive approach to youth work without including the 10 through 14 year olds. The International Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that 50 million children under the age of 15 are at work and that about 11 percent of the 10 through 14 age group are economically active. Nearly 98 percent of the child labourers are in the developing countries.

The world youth population was 738 million in 1975, and by 2000 will number 1,180 million - an expected increase of 60 percent. While the youth population of the more developed regions will increase only by 5 percent in that period, the same age group in the less developed regions will increase by 80 percent. The youth population of three major regions of the world - Africa, Asia and Latin America -will almost double in the quarter century between 1975 and 2000.

In the next 15 years, 80-90 percent of the world's population growth will occur in low income countries where there are already food shortages, massive rural-to-urban migration, inadequacy in housing, health care and education and high unemployment.

Another significant set of statistics involves the number of rural youth versus the urban youth, present and projected. Figure 1 has at least three significant features. First, rural youth will increase in absolute number from 476 million in 1980 to nearly 573 million (20% increase) by 2000.

Figure 1; A Comparison of Rural and urban Youth Populations (age 10 through 24) in three Regions: Africa, Latin America and Southern Asia, in 1980 and 2000.

Secondly, the increase in number of urban youth, from 245 million in 1980 to 504 million (106% increase) by 2000, is even more phenomenal. Urban youth will make up 47% of the total youth population by the turn of the century, as compared to 34% in 1980.

The last observation is an outgrowth of the first two. In spite of the fact that the absolute numbers and therefore needs of rural youth will increase substantially, rural youth and the rural population in general are going to have an increasingly difficult task expanding their current share of resources and services. The increased numbers in urban areas will continue to divert attention and resources to the most visible areas of concern, ranging from unemployment to the high crime rate in the cities. Further, the strains on urban areas will likely lead to ill-informed high cost "crisis solutions" such as highly subsidized short-term government employment schemes which treat the symptoms, rather than addressing the long-term problems.

Regional Trends

For purposes of this paper, three broad regions of the world are examined: Africa, Southern Asia and Pacific, and Latin America.

AFRICA

Regional data show some variation, but the situation is critical in every location. In 1980, Africa's total population was estimated at 470 million, with 71.1 percent living in rural areas. With an annual growth rate of over three percent, the African continent's population will increase to over 850 million by the year 2000.

In 1980, there were 101 million rural youth from the ages 10 through 24, which represented 21.5 percent of the total population. In the year 2000, there will be an estimated 152 million rural youth from the ages of 10 through 24 or 17.8 percent of the total population. The percentage of youth in the rural areas is decreasing, but the absolute numbers are continuing to rise at an alarming rate. Looking ahead, in Africa alone there will be over 300 million young people to educate and prepare for the future between 1985 and the year 2000.

Rural youth constitute the largest sector of the youth population in Africa. They are confronted with problems such as lack of amenities, social services and educational facilities; isolation and lack of organization for youth; contradictions between new aspirations and traditional attitudes and systems; limited access to land and the introduction of new techniques in agriculture; the old and new marriage systems (including relevant financial constraints); and traditional attitudes with regard to the status and role of girls and women in society.

ASIA AND PACIFIC

A comprehensive look at the rural/urban youth distribution across Southern Asia and the Pacific Area shows a similar pattern to that of Africa. The numbers of urban youth will increase by 105.5 percent or 130 million by the year 2000, while rural youth will increase by 13 percent or 45 million in the same period of time.

Unemployment and underemployment continue to be problem areas and the persistence of rural unemployment and the related migration to urban centres are serious problems in every country. The subject of vocational training for rural youth and the problem of the lack of meaningful industrial development outside the capital cities were discussed in the Asia and Pacific regional International Youth Year.

LATIN AMERICA

The Latin American figures from 1980 to the year 2000 show that the proportion of youth aged 10 to 24 will increase by 200,000 or only one-half of one percent in the rural areas, but that in the urban centres there will be an increase of 66.1 percent, from 77 million to 128 million. Young men and women of child-bearing age are continuing to migrate to the urban centres, a fact that compounds the population pressure in the cities. Estimates from the Economic Commission for Latin America show that over 70 percent of the Latin America region's population will be located in the urban areas by the year 2000. These figures lead to the conclusion that farm producers are going to have to be more efficient than at present and that farm prices are going to be increasingly at the mercy of a politically powerful urban voice.

Adequate solutions to the problems of Latin America's rural youth require unprecedented recognition and action in the areas of land reform, incentives for agricultural production, employment opportunities, training for productive work in the rural areas, leadership training, community services and health programmes and social services.

Table 1. The Urban/Rural Distribution of Youth, Aged 10 through 24, in Africa, Latin America and Southern Asia and Pacific in 1980 and 2000.*

* Data do not include China, Japan, Hong Kong, Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, and Mongolia, and are drawn from Age and Sex Structure of Urban and Rural Population 1970-2000: The 1980 Assessment, Population Division Dept. of International Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat.

National Trends

It is important to recognize that the magnitude of potential and problem of rural youth differs considerably among countries even within the same region. These differences can be attributed to: (a) different population size and rate of growth, (b) stages and experience of development, (c) wealth or resources of the country and (d) the resources devoted to and experience in rural youth development work.

In Africa, Nigeria with a population of about 80 million and with a rate of growth of 3.2 percent per year faces a larger rural youth problem than a country like Ivory Coast which has a population 7.7 million and is growing at the rate of about 2.9 percent per year. In Latin America, Bolivia with 52 percent of its population in agriculture faces a larger rural youth development problem than Uruguay, whose agricultural population is only 13 percent. Resource differences among developing countries also have implications for rural youth development. Bangladesh, for instance, with a per capita income of about $ 130 in 1980, faces a more difficult challenge of youth development than Malaysia, whose GNP per capita was about $ 1,620.

PROGRAMMES OF ACTION THAT CAN BE ADOPTED

The potential of rural youth will never be realized and their problems will not be solved without appropriate action specifically designed to meet the needs. Such action programmes should be at the country level and they have implications for action at the international level.

At the Country Level

The well-being and preparation of rural youth for well-adjusted, productive and progressive lives in the rural environment largely depend upon the values, policies and programmes of the country in which they live.

1. The first and most basic condition that should exist in each country is a high value on the importance and needs of rural youth. This must be reflected in governments' recognition and full understanding of the potential of rural youth and their problems.

2. Secondly, governments must have the will to initiate basic policies that are favourable to rural youth development and those policies need to support rural and agricultural development. Such policies should lead to the creation of opportunities for rural youth not only to receive benefits, but also to participate in development activities.

3. Programmes and projects must be specifically designed to allow rural youth to participate in development activities. These programmes or projects will generally be sponsored and supported by the government, but rural youth programmes sponsored by nongovernmental organizations can play a significant role. Rural and agricultural development programmes which have clearly delineated youth components have the highest potential to help large numbers of  rural youth. Activities with an income-generating component have been widely successful.

As recommended by WCARRD, programmes should deal with the particular needs of special groups such as young farmers, out-of--school youth and rural female youth. Young farmers, for example, are at a critical stage where they can benefit from opportunities to learn and improve their capacities to increase food production and generate income. It is at this stage that they need information on nutrition and family planning. The out-of-school youth (both male and female) need to have the opportunity to use their time for learning and their energies for productive, income-generating activities.

Examples of rural youth components in rural development programmes include the following:

1. Formal education with a rural development bias. In some countries, school curricula at the elementary and secondary level have been modified to include practical agriculture, handicrafts, home economics, etc.
2. Non-formal education programmes for out-of-school youth. Generally these are introduced as special training programmes in literacy improvement, leadership development, vocational and productive skill training, youth cooperatives, etc.
3. Provision of rural services that include youth as beneficiaries. These services may include supervised credit for young farmers and youth, making available learning and production resources, health care and recreation activities.
4. Organized community development programmes that challenge and satisfy the energies and aspirations of rural youth. Reforestation, community beautification and community agricultural fairs are examples.
5. The organization and guidance of rural youth for leadership development, skill training, service and production purposes. This includes the formation of youth clubs such as 4-H in the U.S.A. and other countries, Tani Tasuna (future farmers groups) in Indonesia, Anak Bukid (farm youth clubs) in the Philippines, rural youth clubs in South Korea, etc.

4. Considering the nature and interests of youth, much can be accomplished by instituting programmes of recognition for outstanding achievements (in productive work, leadership and service) of rural youth and young farmers and in rural youth work. With imagination this programme can be carried out both at the local and national level with very little resource allocation.

5. Recognizing the large number of rural youth in each country, their varied needs, interests, abilities and problems and the limited resources of governments and NGOs, it becomes evident that cooperation and collaboration among ministries in government is a necessity. In general, the Ministries which may have programmes for rural youth are the Ministries of Education, Agriculture, Local Government, Labour, Industry and Finance. In some developing countries inter-ministerial youth councils have been formed.

By International Organizations

The mandate of many international organizations is to provide technical support for the legitimate aspirations and programmes of development in member countries. Such support should be requested by the member country and it should be within the technical area of competence of the designated organization.

International organizations can adopt a programme to support rural youth development which includes the following five components.

1. Technical assistance. When requested, the organization can provide technical assistance to many programmes of action at the country level. This will usually take the form of experts, consultants and officers of the organization providing technical advice and related services.

2 Catalytic function. The organization can play a catalytic role in defining and redefining directions and priorities of a country's rural youth programmes. It can assist in holding meetings and consultations, formulating projects, and locating sources of funding and personnel.

3. Exchange of experiences and information. Because of its world-wide work, an international organization has the capacity to facilitate an exchange of experiences and information that member countries can use to improve their own rural youth programmes.

4. Production and distribution of materials for rural youth programmes. While most materials for rural youth work should be developed and produced locally or nationally, such materials can be supplemented with those that are developed and produced on an international basis. Comparative materials are especially useful to practitioners in developing countries.

5. Training of nationals working with rural youth. This may include some direct training given by officers of the organization. Predominantly the role of the organization is to facilitate the training of nationals within their country or in another country whenever appropriate - for example, when there is an internationally-aided training project which includes support for group training and for fellowships.

The support for the welfare and the full participation of rural youth in development by international organizations of the UN system needs to be fully recognized and effectively used. The United  Nations International Youth Year of 1985 highlights this support. Cooperation among the specialized agencies of the UN system is needed to ensure that this support is translated into programmes that complement and supplement each other for the ultimate benefit of this group of the rural population.

CURRENT FAO ACTIVITIES IN RURAL YOUTH WORK

Rural youth work has been part of the FAO Regular Programme since 1970. FAO is concerned with rural youth as a beneficiary of development, but it also recognizes the importance of training young men and women for their future role in bringing about agriculture and rural development. FAO supports the United Nations declaration of 1985 as the International Youth Year, and its current rural youth activities are closely related to the three themes of participation, development and peace.

Placed under the six programme areas of technical assistance, catalytic activities, exchange of experiences, development of training materials, training and inter-agency cooperation, the current activities of FAO include:

Technical Assistance

This is the area that has the greatest potential to directly influence working with rural youth and young farmers in member countries. At present, activities in this programme area include assistance in project formulation and advice on rural youth programmes in Sierra Leone and Indonesia. They also include field projects with rural youth components. Although there is much room for improvement in this area, field projects with youth components provide the organization with the impetus to find more resources to assist more countries.

Catalytic Activities

An important way in which FAO is able to assist its member countries is through catalytic activities. This Expert Consultation is one of them. In 1986/87 biennium, four national seminar-workshops are being planned. Rural Youth studies have been conducted in a number of countries and more such studies are planned for the future. All these are being undertaken to facilitate the decision-making process towards the adoption or adaptation of effective rural youth programmes in member countries. The analysis and recommendations of this Expert Consultation will be read by officials of many member countries who are interested in getting new ideas to improve their rural youth and young farmer programmes.

Exchange of Experiences

Another important role of FAO is to encourage the exchange of experiences and information among interested rural youth development officers from member countries. Currently this is being carried out through a communication network among over 100 rural youth programme leaders. A Newsletter on Rural Youth Programmes, to be issued twice a year, will start in October 1985. An exchange of experiences and information is also being encouraged through FAO-sponsored agricultural extension meetings and seminars. In three of five inter-country consultations on Technical Cooperation Among Developing Countries in Agricultural Extension, exchange of experiences on rural youth work in agricultural extension was included.

World Food Day, observed annually on 16 October (anniversary of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) offers opportunities for an exchange of experiences regarding the role and activities of rural youth in food production and improving human nutrition. Ways in which youth groups celebrate World Food Day are also shared.

Development of Training Materials

This activity is conceived as strategic support to specific national activities, particularly in the area of training for rural youth programme leaders and officers. A current activity is the preparation of a Handbook for Working with Rural Youth in Developing Countries. The Handbook stresses the importance of identifying needs of rural youth, and local values and considerations which are useful in involving youth in the planning, implementation and evaluation of local activities. To be printed in English, French and Spanish, this practical guide is designed for use in pre-service and in-service training of rural youth workers and leaders.

Training materials are also developed as a part of more general agricultural extension materials such as the Extension Training Guide and the FAO Agricultural Extension Reference Manual. In the future, through field projects, training materials which are country-specific will also be developed and produced.

Training

This programme area has to be more developed. So far, training activities have been limited to field projects which have youth components, such as two projects in Indonesia. In the next biennium FAO plans to expand the scope of this activity through sponsored group training, fellowships and rural youth exchange schemes. The Handbook and other planned training materials should help make both pre-service and in-service training more effective.

Inter-Agency Cooperation

FAO is actively collaborating with the International Youth Year Secretariat. It participates in each meeting and reflects in its programme of activities the elements of the International Youth Year objectives.

Among Unesco, ILO and FAO the common concern for the promotion of rural youth programmes is handled through the Inter-Secretariat Working Group on Training (ISWG). For example, the 1985 issue of the joint FAO/Unesco/ILO publication "Training for Agricultural and Rural Development" will be devoted to the theme of rural youth.

FAO maintains contacts with the Commonwealth Youth Programme and receives regular information about its activities. Over the years, FAO has also cooperated closely with the International Study Centre for Rural Youth Work at Herrsching in the Federal Republic of Germany.

FAO is actively seeking to increase its contribution to the promotion of rural youth programmes. We expect that this Expert Consultation and similar activities will provide FAO with ideas which will prove useful in its effort to support rural youth programmes in the developing countries of the world.

SOME ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION

One of the purposes of this Expert Consultation is to enable the participants to consider and discuss important issues related to the promotion of rural youth programmes in the third world. Therefore, the following issues are presented for consideration.

1. Considering the large number of rural youth and young farmers in most developing countries and at the same time the limited resources available for allocation to rural youth programmes:

1. What policies must a developing country have for effective rural youth participation and development? At what level?
2. What programmes can be developed and implemented which will benefit not only a few, but large numbers of rural youth in a given country?
3. What approaches and methodologies of working with rural youth can effectively help rural youth as individuals? As members of a group?
4. What rural youth activities can be planned and adopted which are educational, productive, income-generating, and can be accomplished with limited resources?

2. Most countries immediately identify limited funds as the major reason for not having or for having limited rural youth programmes. However, it can be argued that even with the present level of available resources much more could be done to help rural youth participate in the development process and prepare themselves for more productive futures. Therefore, aside from resource limitations, what are the other constraints that reduce a country's ability to have functional and sustained rural youth programmes?

3. Overwhelming evidence indicates that the migration of rural youth to the cities introduces problems because cities are not prepared to provide employment, housing, education and other services. On the other hand, with the continuous increase of population in the rural areas (especially where the rural population is 60 to 80 percent) agricultural land is becoming increasingly scarce. Land holdings are becoming smaller and an increasing number of rural people are landless. Rural employment opportunities are extremely limited and the amenities of living are inadequate or totally non-existent. Given this situation, should rural youth programmes be oriented only to youth who are likely to remain in the rural environment? Or should a rural youth development programme include activities that will help the migrating youth prepare themselves for urban employment and a new way of life?

4. Normally, rural youth are more likely to get help in areas of the country where there is a rural and agricultural development programme in place. The question is, should rural youth programme promoters wait until an area is covered by an integrated development programme? Or should rural youth programmes be introduced in areas not yet having rural development programmes? How should programmes for rural youth and young farmers be designed?

5. In countries where resources are available for rural youth programmes but priorities have to be set, decisions are often made in favour of other target groups within the rural sector itself. Often the question is where to put programme emphasis. Should it be with the 15 to 20 age group? How about the 10-14 age group? What priority should be given to the rural female youth?

6. International organizations like FAO represent the interests and aspirations of their member countries. As partners in development, they have a responsibility and role to play in rural youth development. These organizations have their own limitations both in terms of mandate and in terms of resources. How do you think an organization such as FAO can support national rural youth programmes effectively? Which activities will make a significant difference in increasing the number of participant beneficiaries and what will improve the quality of these experiences for rural youth ? What forms of assistance should member countries seek from international organizations like FAO?

These issues are not meant to be exhaustive. They are identified and presented here with the intention of stimulating a discussion of feasible ideas which may prove useful to rural youth programme leaders in developing countries, to FAO and other international organizations, and to donor countries and organizations.

REFERENCES

Age and Sex Structure of Urban and Rural Populations, 1970-2000; The 1980 Assessment, Population Division, Department of International Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations. Secretariat, 1982.

Rural Youth Problems and Youth Development Programmes in Kenya, C. Oyango, FAO Study, 1984.

Rural Youth Problems and Youth Development Programmes in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand, C. Wongsamun, FAO Study, 1984.

Youth Information bulletin (4) 49, Department of International Economic and Social Affairs, Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, Vienna, 1983.

"Selected World Demographic and Population Policy Indicators, 1978," data sheet prepared by the Population Division of the Department of International Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat.

* Prepared by the Agricultural Education and Extension Service, Human Resources, Institutions and Agrarian Reform Division, FAO, Rome.