Regional Youth Consultation - Who will stay then? How digitalization can bring youth back to agriculture in Europe and Central Asia

Background

Youth, across Europe and Central Asia, is leaving the rural areas and thus the agricultural sector.

Challenges related to access to knowledge, markets, natural- and financial resources force the younger generation to leave the rural areas to the more urbanized parts of their countries, where there’s a higher chance to find better working opportunities. This not only means that the rural areas are facing the consequences of the in-country migration, but the agricultural sector remains in the hand of the older generation, who often prefer and follow traditional practices and have a conservative attitude toward digital solutions.

Amid the increasing demand for food, the deteriorating climate, and other challenges of today, we need the courage of youth, its enthusiasm, and idealism to address these challenges and build sustainable food systems for all.

Digital technology can address the challenge of youth migration and attract youth back to agriculture. Connectivity, mobile adoption, artificial intelligence, and other emerging technologies are opening doors to new opportunities, enhancing the performance of the sector and improving working conditions. However, they also pose certain risks, such as of digital divides between regions or businesses and between urban and rural areas.

The digital technology dividends are not automatic. Some rural areas in Europe and Central Asia are still falling behind when it comes to the adoption of new technologies due to for instance bottlenecks in the broadband infrastructure, affordability, awareness, digital skills, and regulatory issues. This means that the agricultural sector of the region does not take full advantage of scientific breakthroughs and technological advances that can address globally relevant challenges of the agriculture sector. The younger generation can serve as accelerators and champions to support the digital transformation of the rural areas.

The bet is on youth.

The Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia launched a series of youth consultations in December 2021, which also contributes to the regional aspirations of the World Food Forum. The first consultation was an overview session on Challenges and opportunities for rural youth. As part of the series, this year’s Youth Consultation will be held on October 20 under the title “Who will stay then? How digitalization can bring youth back to agriculture in Europe and Central Asia”. 

Event

This Youth Consultation aims to provide a platform for young farmers, digital innovators and academia to share their success stories, experiences, approaches, and key challenges related to the application of digital technologies in agriculture. The event will advocate for youth’s digital innovation, foster and strengthen the dialogues between stakeholders, and make youth's voices and concerns heard and considered.

As a result of engaging young speakers, the event is expected to challenge widespread knowledge about employment in agriculture and provide a platform to discuss the role of digital technologies in stimulating it.

The feedback gathered during the consultation will serve as a basis for REU’s Digital Agriculture Team and REU Regional Initiative on Empowering smallholders, family farms and youth to facilitate rural livelihoods and poverty reduction and to plan further the work around the challenges and opportunities identified during the event. Moreover, the regional youth consultations will also contribute to the Regional Youth Action Compendium by listing the key priority areas for youth action in Europe and Central Asia.

The event will explore:

• Good examples of youths’ engagement in agriculture. 
• Promising digital solutions in agriculture and good practices focusing on smallholders.
• Opportunities and barriers for the younger generation in rural areas to be involved in the agricultural sector.
• The concept of digital agriculture.   

Speakers include:

• Doris Letina, VP, European Council of Young Farmers
• Josh Thomas, Founder, Pastoral
• Endrit Ameti, CEO, BioTech Agriculture
• Gulnaz Iskakova, Kazakh National Agrarian Research University

The consultation is scheduled for 20 October 2022 at 12 AM (CEST) and will be held on Zoom. Russian interpretation will be available during the session. 

Any questions can be addressed to Veronika ([email protected]) and Valentin ([email protected]).

Registration link for online participation: https://fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vTOkuCdrTb2kt73MmO6stA