1 FAO Youth in Agriculture Activities in southern AfricaBarbora Hladka Agribusiness Officer, Sub regional Office for Southern Africa 03-06 August 2015 Youth in Agriculture Summit, Agribusiness Initiatives for Southern Africa Durban, South Africa
2 Content Youth, Employment, Poverty and Agriculture FAO and YouthJunior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) UN Joint Programme entitled Rural Youth Enterprise for food security in Zambia Agribusiness Support to the Limpopo Province (ASLP) Children Youth Development Program Swaziland What prevents youth from entering agriculture sector How to increase number of youth in agriculture/agribusiness
3 Youth, Employment, Poverty and AgricultureYouth unemployment is a crisis! Youth unemployment is 3 times higher then adult ¾ young workers are engaged in informal economy higher for women (ILO school to work study) Unemployment rate is spiralling every year 17 millions young people enter the job market every year in Sub- Saharan Africa Absolut and relative poverty lead to social problems Agriculture is the biggest “employer” in Sub-Saharan Africa Average farmer is years old in average But agriculture accounts for only about 32% of GDP Many jobs in agriculture are informal and characterized by low productivity (particularly in SSA) giving rise to significant decent work deficits “Agricultural sector is responsible for about 50% of total employment” taken from: FAO, The State of Food and Agriculture Rome: FAO. “78% of the extreme poor live in rural areas” taken from: World Bank, The state of the poor: Where are the poor, where is extreme poverty harder to end, and what is the current profile of the world’s poor? Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group.
4 FAO FAOs mandate is to build a world without hunger through technical cooperation and assistance. New Strategic Framework seek to ensure that decent rural employment creation is integrated into agricultural and rural development policies, strategies, programmes and partnerships. FAO helps to promote activities that bring greater economic diversity and dynamism to rural areas, and thereby provide employment and income-generating opportunities for young rural people across the socio-economic ladder. In Sub-Saharan Africa programs focused on decent employment and child labor and job creation in agriculture sector “80% of world’s working poor live in rural areas” taken from: ILO Global Employment Trends Geneva: ILO. “70% of Africa’s youth subsist on USD2 per day or less” taken from: OECD African Economic Outlook Paris: OECD. The youth underemployment situation will continue to worsen if left unaddressed, as 200 million young people are expected to enter the labour market over the next 15 years in Africa alone.
5 FAO and Youth Global level jointly with ILO, UN-HABITAT and UNDPUnited Nations System-wide Action Plan on Youth, programmes targeting disadvantaged youth and access to services, land, markets and information for young people. Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth Regional level 2004 Ouagadougou Declaration and Action Plan on Employment and Poverty Alleviation in Africa The CAADP process and collaboration with NEPAD/NPCA Malabo Declaration 2014 – 2025 and Partnership to End Hunger in Africa by 2025 African Youth Charter and African Youth Decade Plan of Action
6 FAO and Youth Substantial role in child labour prevention in agriculture Substantial contributions in the areas of youth employment and migration from a rural perspective Jobs for the Poor umbrella programme to mobilize the resources needed to act at a scale that is commensurate with the magnitude of the challenge Systematic collaboration with other agencies (e.g. ILO) Advocating for recognition of the centrality of youth employment problematic Mainstreaming of youth employment in Agriculture into FAO work programme and corporate processes Mainstreaming of youth employment in Agriculture in programming frameworks Integrated approach for policy support
7 Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS)Developed and implemented with ILO Build agricultural, business and life skills and empower vulnerable youth Improved food and nutrition security and market linkages Help promote rural development that is more inclusive of youth Mozambican government incorporate the tenets of methodology into its national school curricula In Zambia JFFLS project was implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports under the name Rural Youth Enterprise for Food Security Programme In Malawi JFFLS were developed with special focus on employment In Swaziland program has good results in Strengthened leadership skills, self esteem and decision making, youths have engaged in enterprises that have generated steady income for them, and the youths have managed to create revolving funds to support other income generating activities.
8 UN Joint Programme entitled Rural Youth Enterprise for food security in ZambiaFAO, ILO, NEPAD ILO is involved in the field of rural economic development (with emphasis on off-farm employment) FAO is involved in the field of young farmer development NEPAD is involved in the field of facilitating of policy level dialogue also across country boarders Targets to create 3,000 decent jobs for youth and create or improve performance of 5,000 youth owned or youth managed enterprises in soybeans and aquaculture value chains. Focus on increase public appreciation of commodities and its value chains as a youth employment creation Policy, legal and regulatory framework for youth entrepreneurs Synergies and scale effects through better coordination Notes to Peter: Should mention this not only as an example of our country-level enterprise development work, but also as a good example of programmatic collaboration between ILO and FAO. Other examples of this programmatic collaboration include the ILO-led Decent Work for Food Security programmes in Indonesia, Malawi and Mozambique.
9 Scale up potential for ZambiaThe programme projects to create 3,800 jobs and 3,200 enterprises in the next two years The out grower operator involved in the pilot will scaling up from 100 to 300 youth in the coming season The youth in the pilot will increase production on in average 3 Ha per person in the coming season The financial institution is developing a product that better fit final beneficiaries The programme is engaging more financial instiutitons and market actors to pilot similar products in both soy and aquaculture enterprises Program is engaging stakeholders in the value chain to advocate for a conducive business environment for the two value chains The integrated in-country support consists of: Capacity development activities to identify the needs and priorities of the country, in terms of child labour and equip the governments and other key stakeholders, with the necessary tools to address child labour in agriculture Facilitate policy dialogue to strengthen collaboration and cooperation between agricultural and labour stakeholders Technical support to the Governments to integrate child labour issues into agricultural policy and legislation Research to ensure evidence-based policy advice and support Communication material and activities to raise awareness and knowledge about child labour in agriculture and to advocate for its elimination
10 Agribusiness Support to the Limpopo Province (ASLP)The project was developed in collaboration with the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) and Limpopo Department of Agriculture (LDA) Project focus on creation of employment opportunities for rural women and youth Main objective is access to essential farm inputs and capacity building of rural entrepreneurs engaged in agribusiness To improve the quality and range of services offered To increase the volume of inputs available to smallholder To leverage government resources to be more effective and efficient in addressing smallholder farming Project foster high production practices by subsistence farmers through enhancing access to inputs and promoting agricultural output market
11 Children Youth Development Program SwazilandPromotion of Family Farming Initiative which also acts as a mentoring program for youth Implemented through JFFLS Establishment of a Youth Agricultural Revolving Fund to support agri-based projects Youth engagement in policy development processes Use of ICT within the Agriculture sector as a modernization strategy Training on value chain that could potentially generate decent employment in combination with stronger partnerships with local institutions, businesses and educational centers Vocational skills training in specific agriculture lines based on the value chains Youth entrepreneurship Pre-job training of youth Mentoring programs for young people through PPPs
12 What prevents youth from entering agriculture sectorLimited participation in decision making by young people Education systems that do not recognise the value of agriculture Lack of access to production resources (land, finance) Lack of interest in agriculture as it is viewed to be an unattractive career Large turn over of youth from programs as they look for job Absence of a National Youth Network on Agriculture by the youth which should be advocating for youth engagement, participation and recognition in agriculture based programs Poor participation of youth in policy discussions and national programs requiring youth involvement especially in the decision making processes
13 How to increase number of youth in agriculture/agribusinessMulti-dimensional and multi-sectoral approach. Recognition of the heterogeneity among youth and the need to promote targeted approaches Focus on both quantity and quality of jobs for youth Promoting young people’s access to productive assets Investment in information and its dissemination on opportunities in agriculture and agribusiness for youth both rural and urban Advocate for a conducive environment for start-ups and growth of youth agro enterprises in the face of competition Provide training programs that will strengthen capacities of youth in agriculture through modernized means Awareness creation among stakeholders of the potential contribution of youth to agriculture, economy and poverty reduction Facilitate the establishment of youth platforms to be linked to exchange visits as a learning strategy A lack of coordination among international actors working on employment and poverty reduction not only reduces the efficiency and effectiveness of the support provided by these organizations, but also undermines the coherence of governments’ own policy frameworks. Through their repeated interactions with different international partners, governments often end up with a set of policy priorities and operational initiatives that do not come together in a coherent way, and thus fail to effectively address the issues of youth un/under-employment and poverty.
14 Thank you! Barbora Hladka Agribusiness officer, SFS, Harare, Zimbabww Visit FAO’s thematic website on DRE