Agriculture opens doors for youth: the story of Mohamed, Yimam and Zinetemam
Zinetemam Adem is 22 years old and lives in Kalu, in the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia. Like many young men and women in the country, she faced the tough decision of whether to stay or leave.
© FAO / Tamiru Legesse
Seventy-one percent of Ethiopia’s population is under the age of 30, but the amount of job opportunities in the country has not matched its growth, and many of them lack opportunities to make a decent living.
Married at 18 and now with a 2-year old son, Zinetemam had been preparing to migrate, like many other girls from her village.
But when an FAO-supported Rural Youth Mobility project started in the region, Zinetemam and other youth in her area had an alternative to consider: working in agriculture in their homeland. As part of the project, Zinetemam received training in rearing cattle, and her group was given 18 oxen to start up a business, the Selam Cattle Fattening Enterprise.
“I was about to migrate to find a job and have an income. I changed my mind and joined this initiative to work and change my life,” said Zinetemam.