Youth Participation in Agriculture: A Scoping Review
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- (i)
- Identify the existing challenges and opportunities for youth in agriculture in Africa;
- (ii)
- Based on the evidence, propose an integrated agricultural-based approach for promoting youth participation and inclusivity in agriculture and the future food system in Africa.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Literature Search
2.2. Data Analyses
3. Results
3.1. Literature Search
3.2. Challenges and Opportunities for Youth in Agriculture
3.3. Youth Aspirations, Interest and Participation in Agriculture
3.4. Role of Youth in the Food System
4. Discussion
5. Limitations
6. Way Forward: The Role of Youth in Future Food Systems
- The exposure to agricultural studies at secondary and tertiary level could influence youth’s intention to participate in agripreneurship. This will expose youths to the full range of career options in the agricultural sector at earlier stages. This is being carried out in Zambia through the UniBRAIN program by promoting agricultural innovation and improving tertiary agribusiness education in Africa. In South Africa, the Junior LandCare programme creates an environment for school children to participate in sustainable agriculture activities through food gardens that supplement the school feeding scheme.
- National agricultural policies need to account for youth aspirations, contributing factors, challenges facing youth under different contexts, and characterise data based on age groups. This will assist in developing youth tailored initiatives relevant to the context.
- For youths who are inclined to work in agriculture, high-potential value chains that align with their aspirations and have the potential for increased economic returns should be identified, including the provision of support and removing barriers for youth participation, for example, the YEAP program in Nigeria and Youth Agropastoral Entrepreneurship Programme in Cameroon. These initiatives are creating decent employment opportunities along the agricultural value chain for youths in rural areas. Initiatives can be facilitated through the implementation of regional policies such as the Malabo declaration and Agenda 2063.
- For youths who are not inclined to work in the farm, including those without access to land and production resources, mobilization of support through government and the private sector could position these youths in nonfarm activities that drive agricultural transformation and the improvement of rural markets. For example, marketing and trading of agricultural related products.
- Regional strategies for developing the agricultural value chain (for example the SADC Regional Agricultural Policy) must mainstream youth considerations, with the objective of youth inclusion, capacity development, and sustainable employment opportunities. There is a need for more deliberate investments to be made to create opportunities for youth throughout the value chain.
- Efforts must be made to create a supportive environment to increase opportunities through which youths can pursue food system-related careers and interests. This can be achieved through increasing social capital, improving youths’ connectivity to value-chain actors, promoting networking, peer-to-peer learning, raising awareness, mentorship, and other forms of linkages.
- Modernisation of agricultural production systems and promoting the development of local value-chains to increase awareness, provoke youth interest, and establish relevant role models. Additionally, the design of national policies should explicitly support informal businesses in rural and peri-urban areas.
7. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Policy | Challenges Faced by Youth | Youth Role and Participation in Agriculture | Youth Investment Focus Areas |
---|---|---|---|
African Youth Charter | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
|
African Youth Decade Plan of Action |
| Not mentioned |
|
Agenda 2063 |
| Not mentioned |
|
CAADP | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
Malabo Declaration | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
|
SADC Regional Agricultural Policy | youth is poor, rural, has poor access to economic activities, education, land and capital. | Participation for most of the rural youth in farming is based on circumstances and limited economic opportunities |
|
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Geza, W.; Ngidi, M.; Ojo, T.; Adetoro, A.A.; Slotow, R.; Mabhaudhi, T. Youth Participation in Agriculture: A Scoping Review. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9120. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169120
Geza W, Ngidi M, Ojo T, Adetoro AA, Slotow R, Mabhaudhi T. Youth Participation in Agriculture: A Scoping Review. Sustainability. 2021; 13(16):9120. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169120
Chicago/Turabian StyleGeza, Wendy, Mjabuliseni Ngidi, Temitope Ojo, Adetoso Adebiyi Adetoro, Rob Slotow, and Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi. 2021. "Youth Participation in Agriculture: A Scoping Review" Sustainability 13, no. 16: 9120. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13169120