· What role can schools and universities play in promoting agricultural careers to youth? Please share any relevant programs you are aware of.
Globally, efforts are being made to induce the interest of young people to agriculture. In Nigeria, states are being supported by the national government to develop programmes that can encourage young people to go back to the farms. Some are providing incentives such as farmplots/lands and other resources, however these programmes are so few; there is also lack of awareness and the target group is not identified at institutional level but aimed at the unemployed youths. The problem with this trend is that farming is still being used as subsistence support structure for poverty reduction. Nigeria’s current agricultural development strategy is agro-based, a sector that completely excludes the participation of women and the youths. Although women make up majority in smallholder farming, value addition is completely handled by men who access markets without the women and youths that contribute heavily in agricultural production.
Schools and universities can start by developing demonstration farms, most university agriculture departments in Nigeria do not own laboratory farms, they cannot even demonstrate the theory that they preach, do not tap into the creativity of the youths through research and so, end up graduating students who are more eager to be employed outside of the sector than willing to build careers in the agriculture sector. Most young people view agriculture as a subsistence poverty reduction tool because of the way it is practiced in rural areas; the farmer suffers to produce, sells at a loss to the urban marketer, who adds value to it and makes all the cash. This vicious cycle is repeated every year and rural farmer is only able to feed the family.
· What approaches are most successful in promoting the equality of female farmers?
Enhancing the literacy level of women is one very important strategy that can promote women’s participation in simply agricultural activities like processing and handling, decision making, access to markets and negotiation without fear, access to funding and extension services etc. International development organisations and the UN must force (embargo) countries to domesticate treaties and protocols aimed at empowering women. Countries must be held accountable to develop gender specific interventions that can uplift women to bring about equality.
· What measures can development organizations and governments take to make rural areas more appealing for future farmers?
When institutions start setting up demonstrations farms and other value chain structures in rural communities, community members will start to see the benefit of agriculture and their world perception of farming as a poverty reduction tool will change. Over 60% of the knowledge and skills that we possess comes through practical learning than reading. Since development organisations may not be able to engage in farming directly, developing partnership with governments and such rural communities will help through provision of capacity development. When women and young people’s capacities are developed at community level, youths do not necessarily have to migrate to seek for jobs in the urban areas. Value chain addition activities a preserve for men engaged in agro –processing, will become available to women and youths living in the rural communities.
· Please share any relevant case studies about empowering women and youth in agriculture to achieve better food security.
Women and youths in Nigeria are now the majority in aquaculture farming, a trend that has just emerged in the last 5years due a new policy thrust that has led to a massive capacity development in aquaculture. Training programmes were made cheap targeting people in schools, churches, mosques, civil service etc. Fish has become affordable, available and accessible in most communities that do not have rivers or lakes because small water bodies are being used in their cultivation. Lessons learned from this sector can used to improve participation in other agricultural sectors.
Cordelia Adamu
Vice President/ Project Manager
Abuja 1
Nigeria
Sra. Cordelia Adamu