Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Dear contributors,

I wish to very sincerely thank you for sharing your insights and experiences in this discussion forum. It has been a very rich exchange of approaches and diverse perspectives.

The knowledge you have shared here will feed into the international expert meeting to be held later this year and will inform the recommendations that will be issued.

In these last few days, a number of contributions have highlighted the need for approaches to pay attention to both the broader context factors affecting rural youth and the particular needs and challenges facing youth under 18 (both girls and boys).  For instance, participants pointed to the need for greater investment in agriculture and rural development in general, but also to the need for youth employment and agricultural development programmes to specifically target youth under 18 and develop tailored approaches for them.  

While the need for increased policy coherence was raised, a number of contributions highlighted the importance of measures to ensure youth under 18 were not excluded in practice during implementation (even when included in policy and programme design). The need to consider legislative barriers facing those under 18 was also raised. In other cases, participants pointed to cultural and social norms that act as barriers to youth. The importance of engaging youth’s families was stressed by several contributors in this regard, as was supporting youth to develop their agency and voice. Organization - whether in youth associations, cooperatives or producers’ organizations - was another common theme.

With regards to education and vocational training – participants consistently pointed to the need to strengthen the inclusion of agricultural curricula in the education system and to improve agriculture’s reputation, both in schools and vocational training centers. Again and again, contributors stressed the importance of schools and vocational training programmes being located in rural areas and close to home, in particular for girls.  A number of you also pointed out that the school-to work transition is not linear and that for many youth it is important that they are also earning an income while learning. To engage youth – whether in school, training or business – you also highlighted the social dimension, the creation of a sense of belonging and the provision of advice and support through peer groups or mentorship. Participants shared experiences working with disabled youth and the challenges of youth education and employment in conflict areas and humanitarian crises.

A number of practical and enlightening case studies and models have been provided that further enriched the discussion.

While unfortunately we must bring this discussion to a close, I would like to invite you to send any additional contributions directly to [email protected] within the next few days.

Thank you again!

My best regards,

Jacqueline

Dear all,

Vulnerable youth, especially refugees, are facing a lot of difficulties in the Middle Eastern area due to the unstable situation. Pressure from the hosting community is constantly increasing while few sustainable solutions are offered. In fact, refugees in Lebanon face a very complicated legal situation limiting their world of work to three sectors; agriculture, craftsmanship and construction. The latter working sectors are generally little paid, thus the rise of child labor as a way to supplementary provide their families. Even more, illiteracy and school dropout levels are quite high mainly due to complicate social situations and lack of professional and adequate support.   

Accordingly our work in Lebanon targets the vulnerable local and refugee youth communities (15-25 y.o.) in order to help them cooperate and improve the agriculture and rural sectors. Agriculture vocational training (AVT) is being implemented, since 2014, for the empowerment of youth abilities in the agriculture sectors. In fact, short term courses allow participants to acquire a specialized skill in a relatively small period of time (5-7 days); subjects range from agriculture practices such as pruning and grafting, installation of irrigation systems and micro gardening to food transformation techniques as the production of jams, olive oil and bread. While medium term courses help students acquire a wider range of information in various agriculture sectors such as gardening, nurseries, arboriculture and horticulture simultaneously. By the end of the both trainings, students who successfully complete the courses benefit from official certificates allowing them to enhance their working status as well as their income.

Meanwhile, basic literacy and numeracy (BLN) and life skills courses (LS) are also implemented targeting the same youth category. BLN courses are divided into two; the first for illiterate participants and the second for dropout students who wishes to develop their English and IT skills. Whereas LS courses help participants express there self and know their basic rights. Furthermore, all participants are offered an internship opportunity in order to introduce them to the world of work. Local and national companies are contacted around the year in order to identify their needs in term of workforce and encouraged to receive beneficiaries for internships as a way to cover their gaps.

In numbers, a total of 280 students have successfully completed the medium term and life skills courses during the last two years; this number is expected to reach more than 500 student with this year course. Even more, around 1000 participants will benefit from the BLN and life skills courses and 500 from the short term course this year. Finally, 50 companies already accepted to receive participants for internships in the last two years and the number is also expected to raise this year in order to assure internships for more than a 100 beneficiary.

All inclusive, we believe that this work can help the vulnerable youth category in Lebanon integrate in the agriculture sector and his society by offering him the right tools and proper formation.

My name is Adwoa Atta-Krah and I am a youth development specialist. I manage literacy and entrepreneurship projects in Mali and the DRC.

While rural youth, in general, are underserved by the educational system and lack the basic skills needed to earn a living, the sub category of out of school youth, are even more vulnerable: In order to help these youth become engaged citizens who fully contribute to their communities, development programs should seek to provide them with the opportunity to i) become literate, ii) engage in an income generating activity following vocational training (entrepreneurship) and iii) access credit. In addition, programs should include a community service component in order to further provide youth with a sense of community and belonging. This type of integrated holistic approach empowers youth in a sustainable way.

The Mali Out of School Youth Project (2010-2015, see attachments) represents a potential “solution” to the out of school youth challenge, especially in rural Africa. It sought to help 10,000 out of school youth (ages 14-25) in rural areas become better educated, more economically productive, civic engaged and empowered to improve their lives and those of their families and communities. The project’s youth development model was holistic and integrated, consisting of basic education in mother tongue, mobile learning, vocational training in 14 income generating activities most of which were sylvo agro pastoral, provision of entrepreneurship starter kits, creation of savings and internal lending groups and post training monitoring and accompaniment. Activities were implemented through a corps of Malian volunteers who worked through existing youth associations to ensure community buy-in and sustainability.

The project exceeded its goal, with 10,951 youth completing vocational training. In order to reach the 10,000 targeted youth, the project worked with 3 different cohorts of youth, with the intake of the third cohort exceeding 7000 and therefore, operating at scale. Like many African countries, youth in rural Mali have few prospects. Although agriculture constitutes a major part of rural life, few appreciate the value it could bring to them. Many youth leave their villages in search of greener pastures in nearby towns, cities and countries. There is high unemployment, high illiteracy, marginalization and even radicalization in certain conflict-affected regions such as Timbuktu, which since the 2012 coup d’etat, has become fertile ground for the recruitment for extremist terrorist groups.

This integrated holistic model successfully gave youth a sense of belonging, a chance to be literate in their mother tongue, a chance to learn a vocation, launch a microenterprise, earn a living and contribute to their communities. An external US-government commissioned study concluded that the model positively reduced violent extremism. A important lesson learned is that if youth in rural areas are given a tangible opportunity to earn a living and fully contribute to the development of their communities, they will not only stay in their communities but also play a sustained active role in the development of their communities. The project was highly successful with a start up rate of microenterprises at 74%, 82% of whom were self-employed. The large majority of microenterprises were sylvo agro pastoral activities (agriculture: grain cultivation, market gardening, poultry raising, livestock fattening etc). 70% of youth microenterprises were still in operation up to 24 months after the end of the intervention (cohorts 1 and 2) with between 83% and 85% of youth reporting an increase in profits. 9534 youth participated in savings and internal lending groups. Across indicators, women outperformed men. 177 community service projects completed. Youth associations from 228 villages benefited from training on administrative and organizational management, conflict resolution and promoting a culture or peace.

Below are three lessons learned/recommendations in response to common challenges: i) low motivation levels and high attrition rates of literacy activities, ii) rural to urban migration of youth in search of employment and other opportunities and iii) implementing at scale.

Although literacy is key to developing the capacity of youth, programs should focus on the acquisition of literacy skills for entrepreneurship purposes. Rural youth tend to be less interested in literacy for literacy sake, and more interested in functional literacy or literacy for entrepreneurship.

Proximity trainings should be scaled up: To maximize the amount of time youth spend in villages, vocational training should be brought to them, rather than having youth commute to neighboring towns and cities for trainings.

To the extent possible, programs should incorporate phased implementation. They should have built-in flexibility to allow for modifications to ensure that interventions and activities remain relevant to the needs of beneficiaries (youth). The timing or roll-out of inputs should be able to be modified based on feedback received from the field.

CONTRIBUTION POSTED ON THE FSN FORUM IN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

RUSSIAN VERSION BELOW

Youth employment is one of the biggest issues in Asia and the Pacific as well and many governments are struggling to find the best solution to truckle this serious issue not only in agriculture sector but whole sectors in urban area. The challenges that youth in Asia and the pacific faced in acquiring requisite skills and finding decent work, given the state and demands of modern labour market. Governments are requested to address such challenges through, inter alia,well-coordinated macroeconomic and employment policies and the introduction and strengthening of public employment support services such as active labour market programme in particular for youth facing the school-to-work transition period.

In regard to youth employment in agriculture sector, having faced with shrinking investment on agriculture and increased disaster related risk which have negative impacts on livelihood of people relying on natural resources, entrepreneurship opportunities in agriculture sector are getting decreased  which has pressured employment of youth and female who have less skills or physical capacities to work in agriculture sector. Hence boosting investment on agriculture can be a good solution.  The other option is to promote multispectral or holistic approach such as industry development in rural area to feed other income generating options in rural area from regional planning perspective. 

The agricultural sector has been influenced by manufacturing counterpart, which has shown an increasing capacity to drive the growth in the economy in developing countries.  The manufacturing sector helps generate demand and incomes for the agricultural sector. Any excess and seasonally unemployed labour forces in the latter sector has been absolved and employed by the former sector. But production costs in agriculture have also been bid up by the manufacturing sector, due to the rise in industrial demand for limited land and natural resources.

Recognizing the successful demographical change in developed countries, policy needs to focus on improving employment opportunities for farmers outside the sector as well as within it and eventually it will support youth population to access decent work.

Обеспечение занятости молодежи также является одной из серьезнейших проблем для Азиатско-Тихоокеанского региона, а правительства многих стран пытаются найти лучшее решение этой проблемы не только в сельскохозяйственном секторе, но и во всех секторах в городах. Проблемы, с которыми столкнулась молодежь в Азиатско-Тихоокеанском регионе в процессе получения необходимых навыков и поиска достойной работы, учитывая состояние и требования современного рынка труда. Правительствам рекомендуется решать такие проблемы посредством, в частности, хорошо скоординированных мер политики в области макроэкономики и занятости, а также с помощью внедрения и укрепления служб поддержки занятости, таких как активная программа рынка труда, в особенности для молодежи в период перехода из школы к трудовой деятельности.

Что касается занятости в сельскохозяйственном секторе, то столкнувшись с сокращением инвестиций в сельское хозяйство и ростом риска стихийных бедствий, которые оказывают отрицательное воздействие на жизнеобеспечение людей, полагающихся на природные ресурсы, возможности для предпринимательской деятельности в сельском хозяйстве сокращаются, что оказывает влияние на занятость молодежи и женщин, у которых меньше навыков и физических сил для работы в сельскохозяйственном секторе. Следовательно, увеличение инвестиций в сельское хозяйство может стать верным решением. Другим вариантом является содействие многоспектральному или целостному подходу, такому как развитие промышленности в сельской местности, для поддержки других вариантов получения доходов в сельской местности с точки зрения регионального планирования.

Сельскохозяйственный сектор находится под влиянием производства, которое продемонстрировало возрастающую способность к стимулированию роста экономики в развивающихся странах. Производственный сектор помогает генерировать спрос и доходы для сельскохозяйственного сектора. Любой избыток рабочих или сезонно безработные кадры в последнем секторе начинают работать в вышеуказанном секторе. Однако издержки производства в сельском хозяйстве также возросли и по вине производственного сектора, в связи с ростом потребностей промышленности в ограниченных земельных и природных ресурсах.

Признавая успешные изменения демографической ситуации в развивающихся странах, необходимо, чтобы меры политики были сосредоточены на улучшении возможностей трудоустройства для фермеров как вне сектора, так и в его рамках, что окажет поддержку молодому населению в получении доступа к достойному труду. 

Томми Ишида, Япония, FAO RAP 

English translation below

Chers toutes et tous,

Je reviens sur notre plateau pour continuer les échanges sur les questions des approches les plus efficaces pour surmonter les difficultés additionnelles que les jeunes de moins de 18 ans des zones rurales rencontrent pour avoir accès à des emplois décents.

Je pense qu'à ce niveau il serait intéressent de raisonner d'abord:

•  De la responsabilisation des jeunes par une prise en compte des savoirs et des compétences dont disposent les jeunes femmes et hommes pour entreprendre des activités productives et contribuer ainsi au développement socio économique de leur communauté,
• Sur le plan institutionnel:Inciter la création des associations des jeunes entrepreneurs agricoles, leur mise en réseau et de leur renforcement des capacités 
• Incitation pour l'inclusion des jeunes dans les instances décisionnelles communales ou locales,
• Faciliter l'accès au financement et au marché des jeunes entrepreneurs agricoles,

Offrir des incitations pour favoriser l’accès des jeunes femmes et hommes à des formations professionnelles les préparant à l’emploi.

Merci une fois de plus de m'offrir cette occasion pour échanger sur l'emploi des jeunes en milieu rural et j'espère revenir très prochainement avec d'autres idées sur ce plateau.

Amina ABASS,

Direction des Etudes et de la Programmation,

Ministère de l'Agriculture, Niger.

Dear ladies and gentleman,

I am coming back to our platform to continue our exchange on the most effective approaches to overcome additional difficulties that young people under 18 years of rural areas face in accessing decent jobs.

In this regards I think it would be interested to approach first:

- youth empowerment by taking into account the knowledge and skills available to young men and women to undertake productive activities and contribute to the socio economic development of their community,

- Institutionally: Encourage the creation of associations of young agricultural entrepreneurs, their networking and their capacities

- Incentive for the inclusion of young people in municipal and local decision-making bodies

- Facilitate access to finance and market for young agricultural entrepreneurs

- Provide incentives to promote access for young women and men in vocational training to prepare them for employment.

Thank you once again for giving me this opportunity to discuss youth employment in rural areas and I hope to return soon with more ideas on this platform.

Amina ABASS, Directorate of Studies and Programming, Ministry of Agriculture, Niger

Climate change will place an enormous gender specific burden on the already vulnerable 15-17 age group. Gendered pathways for 15-17 aged boys and girls should be well articulated in the transition to a greener and low-carbon economy expected to generate up 60 million jobs worldwide over the next 2 decades (ILO, 2015).

Strategies for engendering the green economy discourse with the 15-17 age group in mind are key and so are the specific interventions for instance:

-15-17 aged boys/girls should have a voice in the design and improvement of green technology or labour issues related to their work

-Labour saving and labour efficiency technologies should address both the productive and domestic roles of 15-17 aged boys/girls

-Time saving technologies are important for both 15-17 aged girls/boys domestic and production roles to free up time for both formal/informal vocational training/studying

-Programs targeting 15-17 aged boys/girls could take advantage of new technologies and contribute to the development of others, encouraging use of locally available resources within the environment and preserving the environment

- The green equilibrium dashboard could be employed to assess green jobs for acceptable decency and meeting the needs of the 15-17 aged boys/girls

CONTRIBUTION POSTED ON THE FSN FORUM IN EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA

Please note the comment of Natalia Kirienko, carried out in Belarus with youth, which seeks to develop the competencies and experience of young people that are required for employment. This experience may be useful for other countries.

Заслуживает внимание упомянутая в материале Натальи Киреенко осуществляемая в Республике Беларусь Молодежная практика, позволяющая молодежи приобрести компетенции и опыт, необходимые для трудоустройства. Этот опыт может быть полезен и в других странах.

Dear members,

Please find below a blogpost featuring an interview with a young agriculture entrepreneur in Zimbabwe, originally published on the YPARD "Young Professionals for Agricultural Development" website:

http://www.ypard.net/2016-may-13/agriculture-career-choice-young-people-zimbabwe-interview-young-professional-agribusines

Though not specifically related to the 15 to 17 age group, it touches on common challenges youth face in engaging in agriculture and agribusiness.

Best regards

Raymond

Agriculture as a career choice for young people in Zimbabwe: An interview with a young professional in agribusiness management

Agriculture is at crossroads.  There are many positive and negative changes taking place in the sector each day, all of which require that collective solutions be sought by the young and the old people.

Higher education plays a critical role in training the next generation of scientists and agriculture professionals, as shown by the interview below, with a young professional in agribusiness management in Zimbabwe.  It was a pleasure to meet a forward-looking young person studying in the Faculty of Agriculture, at Women’s University in Africa (WUA), and hear how his career in agriculture is shaping up.  One thing that inspired me from the conversation we had was his belief that we should seek for inspiration from as many places as is possible, as we forge ahead with our careers in agriculture.    

Enjoy the interview below

Raymond: Briefly tell me about yourself and your background?

Tarzen:My name is Tarzen T Mushangi. I am the second born in a family of three children.  I am 25 years of age.  My grandfather was a smallholder farmer and did well at his level.  I completed both my primary and secondary education at two rural schools in Shurugwi district of Zimbabwe. 

When the results of my Ordinary Level came out, I found out that of the subjects with passes that I had, agriculture was one of them.  I was really happy, though I had to retake some other subjects I had not done so well. 

I studied Agriculture Science, Management of Business, and Geography in my high school. I got enough points that allowed me to enroll for a degree programme. My aunt and uncle are a big inspiration as far as my studies are concerned.  Both have graduated from WUA, and have big responsibilities in the society. They motivate me to do my best in my studies.   

I was accepted in the Agribusiness Management degree programme at Women’s University in Africa, Faculty of Agriculture. I am now a second year student and still working hard to achieve my set goals and shape my career. 

Raymond: What made you choose a career in agriculture and in particular agribusiness management?

Tarzen: It took me a little while to decide on a career path. However, after careful consideration as well as looking at some of the successful people in Zimbabwe, I found agriculture as the most favorable option.  I have learnt that agriculture involves the rearing of animals and growing of food crops for consumption and sale.  A funny thing about all this is, it never crossed my mind that I would be fully engaged in agriculture.  I imagined going into rural advisory services (extension). Interestingly, though, I now fully appreciate how agribusiness enterprises are managed and why research is important in agriculture.  To summarize, I can say the main reasons why I chose agriculture were:

• Agriculture is a supplier of raw materials to many industries. It made sense to me to be involved in it one way or the other.
• You learn by doing when you practice agriculture.  
• Agriculture is a weapon against poverty.  
• I want to be a part of the food producers in my country.

Raymond: Why is it important that young people see agriculture as a career option?

Tarzen: Like I suggested earlier on, young people should see agriculture and its many avenues.  There is a need for more innovation, which implies the need for new designs, strategies and ways to implement new ideas and technologies. The sector is also in need of new blood in the form of young people. Many older generation farmers are aging and young people can fill in this gap.  I believe it is in the best interest of the young people to start to engage with the sector as soon as is possible.  They can be a part of change in their communities – rural and urban – which speeds up progress in our societies.  There are many opportunities even as consultants in the agriculture sector. 

Raymond: What do you see as the pressing problems in agribusiness management in Zimbabwe?

Tarzen: To start with, financial issues need to be addressed.  The tobacco sector is a case in point where payments to farmers are erratic and the hustles involved in the transactions.  Rural farmers are also being exploited by opportunists and dealers.  There is a shortage of inputs, even access to such by the farmers.  This will lower their productivity in the subsequent seasons.  The other challenge is that of poor road networks, to use so that they access markets.  Some farmers are switching sectors because of these problems.    There is also lack of research and development, which is important to ensure new knowledge flows into and out of the agriculture sector. 

Raymond: In your opinion, is it important to learn the many different concepts in agriculture/agribusiness management?

Tarzen:Yes. Agriculture is a broad sector. The many seemingly unrelated concepts are the source of strategic foresight and management strategies. This can assist the sector to grow. 

Raymond: What particular courses do you enjoy the most in agribusiness management?

So far, in my degree programme, I have thoroughly enjoyed these courses: Agribusiness Plans and Strategies; Management and Information Systems; Economic Principles; Managerial Decision Making; Principles in Crop and Animal Production; Farm Business Management; and Managerial economics; and many others. 

Raymond: What advice do you have for students who are contemplating on the degree path in higher education?

I would like to encourage young people to explore the various career choices available to them as soon as they complete their secondary education.  They should also be introduced to as many subjects as possible so that they can choose wisely. Of course, I hope that they choose agriculture.  There is always room for new comers.   

Raymond: How can people reach you?

Tarzen: My email address is tarzenmushangi2014 (at) gmail.com

Blogpost by Raymond Erick Zvavanyange the YPARD Zimbabwe Country Representative.  He is passionate about foresight in science and agriculture in Africa.  Raymond can be reached on Twitter: @zvavanyanger3 and Email: ypard (dot) zimbabwe (at) gmail (dot) com

Dear all,

I would like to contribute to the forum by sharing my experince in developing and implementing program addressed to Youth. The document is a brief description of the Lebanese context and the efforts and ongoing Public-Private partnership to address the needs of the youth as future feeders of the world is being implemented. It is especially critical as humanitarian challenges are adding to the Lebanese context in now addressing the needs of the Lebanese and the displaced Syrian youth as a result of the Syrian crise.  

I have been going through the valuable contributions of my colleagues in the forum which I found as valuable and innovative. I hope that sharing and building on everyone's knowlege will be systematically continued and be supported by FAO.   

Abir Abul Khoudoud

Head of Extension and Education Services

Ministry of Agriculture

Dear colleagues.

Please find attached a submission made by Save the Children Canada, which would complement other submissions sent by our colleagues at the global level and in the field. 

We appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this key issue of youth in agriculture and we look forward to hearing from you,

Warmest wishes,

Olivia