Youth have the power to transform agri-food systems. In the lead-up to the United Nations Food System Summit (UNFSS), over 80 young women and men from farmer associations, rural youth networks, youth-led organizations and agribusinesses, young policymakers and diaspora youth joined an Independent Dialogue convened by the African Youth Agripreneurs (AYA) platform and titled “The Y Factor: bringing...

This case study, Effectiveness and duplicability of the Youth Inspiring Youth in Agriculture (YIYA) initiative, is an output deriving from the assessment of the YIYA Initiative in Uganda. In 2017, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Uganda, with the Ministry of Agriculture,...

‘The audacity of entrepreneurship: youth in action,’ (L'audace d'entreprendre : une jeunesse en action) – the title of his latest book – encapsulates the essence of Benin-based José Herbert Ahodode’s vision to promote youth entrepreneurship in agribusiness as a model to create sustainable rural employment and wealth in African countries...

Hidden hunger, a chronic lack of minerals and vitamins, affects two billion people across the globe and is a big problem in Eastern Africa. It devastates human cognitive development, our productivity and immune system –affecting both our health and economies. Eating more whole grains and upgrading how we process them...

This case study, “Solutions to youth agripreneurship challenges”, is an output deriving from the assessment of the Youth Inspiring Youth in Agriculture (YIYA) Initiative in Uganda. In 2017, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF) as...

Peer-to-peer learning can be very effective in sharing knowledge and experience, and encouraging the adoption of new practices and technologies among farmers including youth. FAO training approaches, like the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS), encourage youth facilitators to share their knowledge in the respective communities, mobilizing and sensitizing...

Like many African countries, Rwanda’s population is young. A third of Rwandans are aged between 15 and 34, and youth employment is a critical policy issue that directly affects national food security. Indeed, youth engagement in agribusiness in developing countries is a crucial asset to achieving sustainable food security. Recognising...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, through the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Programme, will organise the International Symposium on Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems and Family Farming from 18th to 20th of October 2021.  The Symposium will focus on how the main features of GIAHS sites and the UN Decade of Family Farming action...

Peer-to-peer learning can be very effective in sharing knowledge and experience, and encouraging the adoption of new practices and technologies among farmers including youth. FAO training approaches, like the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS), encourage youth facilitators to share their knowledge in the respective communities, mobilizing and sensitizing...

This new manual by the Youth Employment Funders Group (YEFG) features two ICA case studies - ChispaRural and the Youth Inspiring Youth in Agriculture initiative - as examples of meaningful youth engagement in youth employment programmes.

Tonle Sap Lake in northeast Cambodia is one of the most productive inland fishing waters in the world, due to flooding and monsoon. Fisheries are the backbone of country’s economy, with Tonle Sap contributing over half of the country’s fish production. Yet the lake’s 4.8 million residents are some of...

On July 26, 2021, AFA’s Secretary-General Ms. Estrella Penunia delivered an opening speech during the UNFSS Plenary’s Opening Session. With the theme “A Bold Ambition to Improve Food Systems,” Ms. Penunia highlighted the current state of our global food systems, and she emphasized what being bold means for small-scale food...

This short video provides an overview of FAO’s work to engage and empower youth in responsible investment in agriculture and food systems.

European consumption of organic products has exploded over the last years. Currently, the European Union is ranked second in global organic consumption after the US. By 2030, it aims to convert 25% of farmland to organic. Right now, it is only around 8 %. Is the EU on the right...

El 14 de abril de 2020, el federado Daniel Ahumada fue víctima de la usurpación de su campo, ubicado en Cruz del Eje, provincia de Córdoba. El usurpador, valiéndose de un arma de fuego, amenazó a Daniel, su madre y su hijo, para quedarse con la propiedad, argumentando haberla comprado....

The SALSA project has closed a long-standing gap in research by looking into the status of small farms in different regions of both Europe and Africa. Its findings should help these farms live up to their true potential. Thirty reference regions, 25 of them in Europe and five in Africa. That’s...

Welcome to the Burren in the West of Ireland, where Shane Casey’s family have been farming Blackhead mountain for some two hundred years. Here, the unique limestone landscape requires a unique way of farming. Traditions are passed down through many generations of Burren farmers to maintain the critical symbiotic relationship between...

A report by the Malabo Montpellier Panel calling on policymakers to rethink and reorient African food systems. Drawing upon the experience of four countries – Ghana, Malawi, Morocco and Rwanda – the report Connecting the Dots: Policy Innovations for Food Systems Transformation in Africa presents five recommendations to elevate policymaking...

Africa has the world's youngest population, with an estimated 420 million young people aged 15 to 35. That's a lot of young individuals entering the labor force who are looking for work. Agriculture might meet this demand, but it is generally perceived by young people as filthy, labor-intensive employment with...

On 12th October 2021, Euromontana organised its annual conference on “Being young in a mountain area in 2021”. The event was the opportunity to highlight the needs and desires of young people for the future of the mountains. The conference gave the floor to different mountain organisations that have recently...