Following the request of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) online on the scope above I hereby submit thus.
This is one of the provoking thoughts that clears roadblocks to achieving Agenda 2030.
Knowing fully well the essence of Agriculture in any nation, we must make sure we provide avenues for growth and sustainability by providing adequate infrastructures to reaching desired goals.
Ordinarily agriculture can not stand alone without Food Processing which is a middle process to end users.
Factors Limiting Youth Engagement:
First of all, the Youth I question has to see career prospects in Engagement of Agriculture and Food System. This is where passion as a driver emancipate being a catalyst.
Availability of Land for Agricultural Farming purpose and Food Systems.
Availability of Equipment: This is key as prospective entrepreneurs with adequate skills and knowledge to not have the capacity to procure these equipment to do such business.
Bench Marking on Age Limits: This has drastically suppressed the zeal of about 60% prospective entrepreneurs to venture into so many aspects of the economy including Agriculture and Food Systems due to policies of age barriers as key requirements to scale through processes starting from registration.
Lack of Technical Know-how and Training: There are not enough resource persons to handle practical Agriculture and Food Systems. The available ones, age limit policy may have screened them out.
Government at all levels should promote Agriculture and Food Systems as priority agenda regardless of political affiliation for sustainability.
If the challenging issues ranging from Food Security, Food Nutrition and Food Safety across the value chain are tackled head-on now, we can be sure of Agenda 2030 vision by the UN SDGs.
Solomon Oyeniran