Promoting youth engagement and employment in agriculture and food system
From the academic and practical points of view, youth, who are the majority of most developing nations’ populations, are not usually attracted to taking agriculture as a profession, career, or enterprise.
From the developing nations' perspective, the main reasons identified are i. Agriculture is perceived and practiced as males’ enterprise, although females are the majority of the workforce; ii. The use of manual tools, as well as the unattractive nature of farming; and iii. Its low profitability; agriculture is associated with poverty among the youth.
Hence, to promote youth’s engagement and employment in agriculture, there must be i. conscious mainstreaming of gender equity principles and ICT into the teaching, research, service provision, and practice of agriculture at all levels; ii. Development of gender-responsive low cost and available technologies to ease activities along the Agriculture value chain; iii. Youth empowerment and teaching agriculture as a profit-oriented subject at all levels; and v. formulation and implementation of gender-responsive policies at all levels.
Promoting youth engagement and employment in agriculture and food system
From the academic and practical points of view, youth, who are the majority of most developing nations’ populations, are not usually attracted to taking agriculture as a profession, career, or enterprise.
From the developing nations' perspective, the main reasons identified are i. Agriculture is perceived and practiced as males’ enterprise, although females are the majority of the workforce; ii. The use of manual tools, as well as the unattractive nature of farming; and iii. Its low profitability; agriculture is associated with poverty among the youth.
Hence, to promote youth’s engagement and employment in agriculture, there must be i. conscious mainstreaming of gender equity principles and ICT into the teaching, research, service provision, and practice of agriculture at all levels; ii. Development of gender-responsive low cost and available technologies to ease activities along the Agriculture value chain; iii. Youth empowerment and teaching agriculture as a profit-oriented subject at all levels; and v. formulation and implementation of gender-responsive policies at all levels.
(Olanike Deji, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria)