Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

1. What are the biggest challenges youth in Africa face after going through youth-specific capacity development initiatives in agriculture?

The challenges that youth faces after going through capacity develoment (CD) initiatives include access to productive resource to establish themselves with the skills they acquired after CD initiatives. These resources include funds for establishment of agricultural enterprise, space or land for operations, business networks and market access. Youth requires initial funds to establish which is not readily available. Even where funds are available the interest rates on these funds are pegged at market rate that is unattractive.

Land or space required for operations are expensive or not available for youth since they do not have easy right of ownership. Youths are also lacking the required institutional networks to roll out the products and services into the market. Networks are required to link products and services generated to available market for profits to be made. 

Authorities, boards and institutions in the agriculture space in many African countries are mostly to far away from the youth. They do not have easy access to these authorities and agencies to get their businesses operative and standardized.

I'm overjoyed for having the chance to talk about the partaking of African Youth in Agriculture on the FAO Group. I will start in on by answering raised questions according to the best of my knowledge.

• What are the biggest challenges youth in Africa face after going through youth-specific capacity development initiatives in agriculture?

The biggest challenge youth in Africa faces institutions. Limited access to land, inadequate access to financial services, and limited access to markets are the major challenges and situation that will pose potential danger on the viability and strategies of African countries’ youth participation in agriculture. Although access to land is fundamental to starting a farm, it can often be difficult for young people to attain. Inheritance laws and customs in developing countries often make the transfer of land to young women problematic, and so are in need of amendment. Loans to assist youth in acquiring land are also needed, while leasing arrangements through which youth gain access – though not ownership – to land may also prove effective. Inadequate access to financial services is principal challenge. Most financial service providers are reluctant to provide their services – including credit, savings and insurance – to rural youth due to their lack of collateral and financial literacy, among other reasons. Promoting financial products catered to youth, mentoring programmes and start-up funding opportunities can all help remedy this issue. The other principal challenge young people have limited access to markets. As without such access youth will not be able to engage in viable and sustainable agricultural ventures. Access to markets for youth is becoming even more difficult due to the growing international influence of supermarkets and the rigorous standards of their supply chains. Moreover, Youth have limited involvement in policy dialogue. Too often young people’s voices are not heard during the policy process, and so their complex and multifaceted needs are not met. Policies often fail to account for the heterogeneity of youth, and so do not provide them with effective support.

• What enabling environment is needed to ensure sustainability of youth in agriculture capacity development initiatives?

To remedy this, youth need the requisite skills and capacities for collective action institutions to ensure that their voices are heard. Various private and public sector market-supporting institutions and institutional arrangements been proposed to bridge market imperfections, reduce transaction costs, and enhance opportunities for the poor youths in agricultural markets and to make the market systems more inclusive and integrated.

Hi, Great to be a part of this conversation. I agree that Youth in Africa face several challenges even after going through youth specific capacity development initiatives in agriculture, the biggest ones include access to market and seed funding opportunities. If banks and lending institutions can understand how farming works like and come up with friendly loans that are tailored for different agricultural ventures. Lack of access to the market is also a huge problem. If the government and non-government organizations can help the youth find access to market their produce, I believe these problems being fixed will help the youth grow better and lasting business that empower them and provide employment and grow the country

I am delighted for having opporttunity to discuss on this platform in order to discuss issues related to agriculture and food production.

My contribution is about this question:

What are the biggest challenges youth in Africa face after going through youth-specific capacity development initiatives in agriculture?

The biggest challenges youth in Africa especially in Kano Nigeria are facing after going through capacity development especially on animal production are as follows:

1. Lack of interest in agriculture by the youth especially urban dwellers:

Most of the youth that are enrolled into this entrepreneurship lack interest in animal rearing and production. Threrefore, after the training they cannot put it into practice.

2. Lack practical skills from the youth: Most of capacities for youth empowerment take few weeks, therefore, the participants are graduated without basic skills, therefore when they were empowered with takeup grants they will not engange on the bussiness rather than to sell out the inputs.

3. Lack of good markets for the commodities: Market is the key factor to animal production. After capacities majority of the youth cannot continue with their production due to improper marketing channels, sometimes they prepare to sell the produce on lost or credit.

Youth capacity building for agripreneur is aimed at empowerment with knowledge, skills and attitudinal change. Capacity building is a solid foundation to groom youths with practical demonstration. We have done this successful with good results for government and private. On going is under graduate trainee program called "students industrial work experience scheme ( SIWES) where over 2500 have been trained in Aquaculture & fishery. Most students confessed that the work experience changed their perspective and give them confidence in the course the are studying as lucrative.

However, past experience in one of the youth program was sad because after the training, they youths were not empowered to establish the enterprise. So, youth capacity building should be a complete package comprising of knowledge, skills, financial and inputs to put knowledge into practice.

Thanks

Please find below a photo of students on SIWES training in Aquaculture in private fish farm in New Bussa, Niger State, Nigeria

Inevitably the Youth are the future of every nation and the bright future of every nation is born in today's Youth hence the urgent critical need to address Youth issues. Youth in Africa face challenges even after going through youth specific capacity development initiatives in agriculture, paramount to these challenges is sustainability. Initiatives or interventions are supposed to be time bound or be for a specific period with the believe and hope that after the intervention the intended will hold on sustainably. Most of the time it is not the case as the intended objective is often short lived because of various reasons. Success stories do exist or have happened but some have dimmed out usurping the blazing hope of success and sustainability that was the initial objective of specific interventions. Depending on the time it took to observe the good practices that added life to the interventions for the period of their existence, yes good practices have been learnt and successes have been experienced and hence can be shared even though they have their expiry dates dictated by new challenges that wared and defeated against them. This says to us interventions, specific and targeted as they may be are necessary but are not in any way adequate, therefore to stop at intervention and expect sustainability is not astute policy decision as it has proven to be inadequate by the many interventions that failed especially those that had only intervention (a short term take on) as an objective with no subsequent processes to ensure the desired sustainability (a long haul phenomenon).

The Youth need to collaborate, engage, link up, commit to growth/sustainability, and passionately believe that whatever they lay their hands to and work out will work out. There is huge potential for modern technologies in sustaining capacity development initiatives in agriculture, if they will be planned well, scoped well, resourced well, targeted well, implemented well, monitored and evaluated well. Surely it can be achieved.

The positive impacts that will result from engaging the African youth in agriculture has to be radically pursued! Stakeholders, especially the government, has a big role to play through the formulation of policies that not only support the supply of food from agriculture but also value addition to these food crops.

Nowadays, the awareness is already there in many African countries on the important role of agriculture as a good business investment. As mentioned earlier by previous contributors, the issue of finance is paramount in translating these government policies into realities. The trainings need to incorporate the modern aspects of technology. Research institutions need to be properly supported financially and work in tandem with the youth to be engaged in entrepreneurship.

Infrastructure that supports the movement of harvested / finished food products has to be well articulated to cope with the African circumstances (hot climate) to reduce waste from pests and enhance quality. ICT that supports capacity development as a tool is very relevant in the African foods system especially in farming and fishing. Africa also needs to look inward and cooperate more on regional basis, to share and learn best practices on getting the youth involved in agripreneurs.

Dear Moderator,

I take this opportunity to participate in the forum so as to make sure there is sustainability of capacity development initiative for us youth in agriculture sector. I will begin by answering raised questions according to my understanding and experiences from various research I participated in.

1. What are the biggest challenges youth in Africa face after going through youth-specific capacity development initiatives in agriculture?

Access to Markets- Most African countries especially Sub-Saharan countries experience market problem linkage. An issue of markets has discouraged many youth to participate in agriculture activities since efforts put are not worth to expected outcome sales. You can find that after youth have finished getting practices they are not attached to the specific organizations that demand output at the end of production. Or maybe they are promised to be connected to traders but when time arrives no traders seen.

2. What post-capacity development support do the youth need? What can the youth do to support each other in developing their skills and capacities?

- Connection to markets- There needs to be connection of youth with big markets to sell their outputs/produce.

- Good prices- There should be good prices set so as to motivate more youth to be involved in agriculture.

-Hear the voice of youth- The youth in agriculture sector should be heard explaining their setbacks so as to be solved leading to expansion of produce.

I would like to stop here to let other share their views too. Would love to hear from others and understand more issues related to Agriculture since am very passionate with farming and looking forward to be among the candidate on capacity development initiatives next time.

Thanks and looking forward to be part of the discussion.

Agape Ishabakaki.

1.What are the biggest challenges youth in Africa face after going through youth-specific capacity development initiatives in agriculture? I am pleased for being privilege to express my views on this forum One of the biggest challenge youth in Africa face is the issues on access to LAND. Any farming activity require space(land) to operate be it Crop farming, Livestock, Aquaculture, the first asset to acquired as a farmer is land. Since all agricultural system depends on land, the ownership or access to agricultural lands becomes crucial especially for the youth. Gaining Land in Ghana as a youth for agricultural purpose is a difficult task. One of the challenges face by the youth is to know which land is available for rent because there is no public advertisement about renting lands . most times land owners check the readiness to rent or through familiarity and all this comes with payments of money of which most youth cannot afford. Access to finance through banking system is also challenging as all of them requires collateral in a form of immobile property such as house of which the youth do not have to back up application. Also most agricultural loans, if available are for short term which does not favor crops and ruminants that takes more than 3 years to mature.

It is a great opportunity to be part of this forum and to share to the word the issues of agriculture and the youth. Yes it is true that Africa is naturally endowed with abundant land yet its youth are crying over unemployment. Before venturing into any business, the issue of job security and sustainability needs to be assessed and guaranteed. In Africa in general and Ghana in particular, many of the youth have the knowledge and skills in going into agribusinesses but the problem of ready market to farm produce and prices of produce is one key factor that scare many away. The youth look at the peasant farmers, the stress they undergo and the price of goods sold out and that alone demoralizes them. So for the youth to engage in active agricultural activities, there should be a ready market for produce with its accompanying good price. Youth interested in agriculture activities should also be supported financially with accompanying monitoring and supervision on the use of funds.