2nd Forum on Decent Employment to promote rural youth entrepreneurship in Senegal

10/01/2017

In Senegal, the agricultural sector employs 70% of the working population. Overall, the demographic structure is particularly youthful, with over 60% of the population below the age of 24 years. Yet, employment opportunities for rural youth remain limited and of poor quality in the country.

Against this background, facilitating the youth cohort's participation in agriculture by generating more and better jobs in rural areas has the potential to widespread rural poverty reduction amongst youths and adults alike. In particular, there is a distinctive need to organize and bring youth together to improve their capacities for collective actions. "We have to prepare young people to become leaders and drivers of innovation, able to pull the economic development of the country" stated Mr Réda Lebtahi, FAO Representative ad interim.

On this purpose, the second edition of the Forum sur l'Emploi Décent (FORED), organized by ANPEJ with the support of the ICA Programme, convened under the theme "Decent work and entrepreneurship of young people in rural areas: tools and practical knowledge".

The Forum was held on the 21st December in Dakar and brought together Government representatives, local authorities, technical and financial partners, researchers, private sector, civil society, youth and producers' organizations. The objective was to promote youth entrepreneurship in rural areas, providing young farmers and agripreneurs with a platform to share knowledge and present their initiatives.

During the Forum, the draft Politique de promotion de l’emploi des jeunes en milieu rural was presented and discussed with participants, before being submitted to the technical validation of the Comité de Pilotage set up by the Government of Senegal for this purpose. The document is the result of an inclusive policy dialogue conducted at national level and facilitated by FAO.

Mr Amadou Lamine Dieng, Director General of ANPEJ, explained that it is crucial to adopt an inclusive approach "in vocational training, land tenure, resource mobilization, institutional dialogue and the establishment of a social protection scheme adapted to agricultural trades".

The ultimate objective, according to Mr Tanor Gningue, Technical Advisor to the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Comité de Pilotage, is to "create an enabling environment in which rural youth thrive and can consequently generate further employment opportunities in rural areas".

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