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10 July 2019 - Different partners and stakeholders involved in youth employment programmes/projects in the Republic of Congo met in Brazzaville, on 10 July 2019. The workshop served as a venue to validate a concept note on an investment programme proposal and to discuss partnership opportunities for implementation of proposed interventions.  Around fifty people representing the government, development partners, civil society, youth, and the private sector attended the workshop, which was conducted through interactive exchanges and active participation.

FAO Regional Office for Africa SP3 - Rural Poverty Reduction Team in close collaboration with the FAO Office in the Republic of Congo prepared the proposal. The RAF Team has placed a concerted focus on the Central Africa sub-region in terms of capacity building, but also on the need for support in designing investment projects addressing the particular challenges faced by the sub-region in the area of youth employment. Based on an analytical and participatory process of selection, the Republic of the Congo was prioritized as an initial country of support in formulating a concept note to identify areas of interventions related to investment opportunities for job creation for youth.

Youth Employment in Africa

Youth employment in the current context of migration in Africa is a priority for the continent. The African Union's Agenda 2063 and the various instruments for its implementation, such as the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), underscore the importance of this area – and FAO is supporting these priorities through mobilization of the productive potential of young women and men along the agricultural value chain.

The workshop discussions and recommendations centered around the choice of localities targeted for the implementation of the project as well as the establishment of a national platform for young people in the agricultural sector (including young innovators in ICT for agricultural value chains). Additionally, the focus honed in on the setting up of an exchange and coordination mechanism (with action plan) on youth employment in agriculture. The workshop also discussed the sustainable operationalization of the targeted training centers for the project as well as the strengthening of professional capacities of unemployed youth, through comprehensive technical and entrepreneurial training.

Mrs. Suze Percy Filippini, FAO Representative in the Republic of Congo, closed the workshop by requesting the contribution of all participants to continue the exchanges for a successful implementation of the project as well as of other ongoing or future initiatives.

The next steps will focus on the initiation of several activities with available resources such as conducting baseline studies on youth involvement in agriculture in the Republic of Congo. There will also be an opportunity to launch a youth mobilization campaign in order to constitute a solid database of existing youth in the sector and those with high potential for contributing to the sector’s growth. FAO will also continue to engage partners (those who attended the workshop and others) on partnerships opportunities for implementation of proposed interventions.