Engaging youth in an agricultural sector characterized by an ageing labour force is crucial to ensure sustainable food security, reduce youth unemployment and combat rural migration. Therefore, responsible agricultural investments by and in young women and men need to be scaled up. Grounded in the CFS Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI Principles), the ASEAN Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (ASEAN RAI) provide guidance on how to improve the quality and quantity of investments in agriculture and food systems in ASEAN.  

ASEAN RAI Guideline 3 highlights the importance of empowering and engaging youth in agriculture and recommends, among others, to attract more young people into the sector by increasing their access to services (extension, advisory, and financial), education, training, markets, and information. This may include on-farm, technical and entrepreneurship training as well as enhancing young people’s advocacy and bargaining power. 

In support of implementing the ASEAN RAI in Lao PDR, particularly ASEAN RAI Guideline 3, FAO has been collaborating with Lao Youth Radio since September 2021 in order to raise awareness on the importance of youth in responsible investment in agriculture and food systems (RAI) and to develop the capacities of youth to better engage in RAI. 

This collaboration included an online training carried out by Lao Youth Radio from October to December 2021. The training targeted 50 young people engaged in agriculture-related activities to learn about the ASEAN RAI and improve their marketing and social media skills. It focused on how to create infographics and short videos andhow to use social media to promote agricultural products and activities. 

During the closing ceremony of the training, the participants presented the infographics and videos they produced in the context of the training. 

Participants highlighted that the training helped to improve not only their soft skills in creating engaging posters/infographic and short videos using their mobile phones to better promote/market their agricultural products but also to raise awareness on their agricultural activities and sensitive people about the importance of agriculture, particularly for young people. 

In addition to this training, Lao Youth Radio promoted the ASEAN RAIvia radio spots and its Facebook page to raise awareness on RAI and the ASEAN RAI Guidelines, highlighting particularly the importance of young people and womenin agricultural investments. 

They also hosted a panel discussion series on RAI during which different experts and practitioners from the government, civil society and private sector discussed the ASEAN RAI and different aspects of RAI including good practices and lessons learned. Topicscomprised environmental and social protection, land governance and tenure, the role of young people, women and disabled persons in RAI and how to engage in RAI and become an agri-entrepreneur.  

The discussions highlighted that not only a sound legal and policy framework enabling RAI needs to be in place, but that all stakeholders including public, private and civil society actors need to be engaged and consulted to make RAI a reality on the ground. 

Lao Youth Radio’s awareness-raising and capacity development campaign culminated in a quiz about RAI and the ASEAN RAI Guidelines with more than 400 participants. 

For all panel discussions, videos and infographics see Lao Youth Radio’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fm90laos/?ref=page_internal  

This work was funded by the Flexible Multi-Partner Mechanism (FMM).