Foreword
With almost 200 million people aged 15-24, Africa has the youngest population in the world1. Each year, 10 million young Africans enter the continent’s workforce, more than ever before. This highlights the great challenge of youth unemployment, but it could also be seen as a great opportunity to encourage youth to be the engine behind the development of new agricultural enterprises — not just in farming but also in research, processing, packaging, and retailing of food stuffs. These demographic trends have important implications, both positive and negative, for Africa’s social and economic future and, as shown in this Report, especially for the agriculture sector. It is clear that the future of Africa rests in its young people and there is an imperative need to create opportunities for economic growth, skills, prosperity and innovation in the agriculture sector to fight poverty and end hunger.
As stated by Makhtar Diop, World Bank Vice president for Africa: “Whether they live in the cities and towns of a rapidly urbanizing Africa, or in rural villages and settlements; whether they come from middle-class backgrounds or from vulnerable families that are living in poverty, one thing is certain – these young people have high expectations, and African policy makers are increasingly concerned about how to meet them.”2 Nevertheless, meet them we must.
There are good reasons for optimism: Africa has been experiencing unprecedented economic growth in recent years. In fact, of the world’s ten fastest growing economies, six are in Africa. The rapid growth and modernization of Africa’s financial, mining, retail and telecommunications sectors illustrate how the continent’s prospects are changing for the better. These changes, coupled with increasing investments in modernizing agriculture, are opening up new employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth along the agricultural value chain. Yet little is being done to empower our young people to seize these opportunities. Dubbed as agents of change, movers and shakers, our young people face an array of challenges in the agriculture sector. These range from limited access to land, financial credit (working capital), and improved technologies, to a lack of practical skills and basic literacy, to social norms that largely exclude youth from participation in decision-making and vest control in older generations. Young women are especially hard hit by these constraints, and are often encouraged, directly and indirectly, to embrace more traditional social and economic roles.
Concerted and highly focused efforts by leaders in government, civil society and the private sector are needed to ensure that economic growth and social improvements are inclusive of, and in fact often driven by, our rural and urban youth. This publication highlights some examples of progress that begin to extend the conversation on youth and their role in Africa’s socioeconomic growth through agriculture. The Report illustrates that Africa’s future is its youth, and we ignore them at our peril. We must invest in educating and empowering them to build their entrepreneurial and technical skills and spirit, so that they can play their rightful role in increasing agricultural productivity across the continent. Simultaneously, we must invest in enhancing our rural infrastructure (transport and storage systems, markets) and continue investing in telecommunication systems and other modern technologies that youth can utilize to achieve their full potential as agricultural entrepreneurs.
It is in Africa’s long-term best interests to make these investments today and continue to do so over time, as articulated in the African Union’s Malabo Declaration. We share a common goal of increasing agricultural productivity, improving food security, and reducing poverty across the continent. The role of young people in achieving this goal is absolutely vital and necessary.
Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda
Chief Executive Officer and Head of Mission
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)