FAO embraces youth issues in rural areas of Europe and Central Asia

After two days of intense discussions and information sharing, the first Rural Youth Forum for Europe and Central Asia concluded on 30 November. Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),  it gathered representatives of 20 countries, farmers’ associations, youth groups in Budapest, Hungary – and online – to share ideas and build bridges for advancing the well-being, livelihoods and prosperity of rural youth. 

In the countries of Europe and Central Asia, as well as all around the globe, rural youth play a fundamental role in ensuring the sustainability of family farms and rural communities. 

“Acknowledging the challenging situation of rural youth is key to further supporting their engagement in policy processes,” said Nabil Gangi, Officer-in-Charge for the FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia in his opening statement. “Herewith I’m encouraging the youth representatives to raise their voices and show the possible ways ahead for transforming rural areas.”

Speakers presented the World Food Forum (WFF), with its call for youth action, to the Forum. The WFF is  an independent global youth-led movement supported by FAO and  launched in 2021 with the aims of empowering young people to reshape agrifood systems and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals with a better food future for all.

The regional forum was preceded by online thematic consultations by FAO experts on some of the most pressing topics: youth engagement in agriculture and food systems, digitalization, and food waste. Participants of the two-day forum highlighted several other challenges that rural youth face in Europe and Central Asia, include access to knowledge, training, and natural resources, in particular land, as well as financial resources. Youth participation in agrifood markets and engagement in policy processes  is hampered and youth  lack decent employment opportunities in rural areas.

However, youth in rural areas can be a significant driving force for sustainable rural development. Young people have the capacity to promote innovation and the adoption of new technologies that can contribute to increased agricultural productivity in a sustainable way. They have a greater willingness to explore new opportunities in the agrifood sector, helping to revitalize local economies.

The Regional Rural Youth Forum called for increasing young people’s involvement in relevant decision making processes, as well as for their enhanced access to natural resources, finance, training and knowledge, and public services. It was agreed that improving digital literacy among rural youth, creating opportunities for intergenerational knowledge transfer, and creating an enabling environment through policies can further improve the opportunities for young people in rural areas. As participants noted, the specific needs of rural young women should also be considered when designing inclusive policies and public services.

“Youth are key agents of change for the agrifood systems transformation in the region,” said Raimund Jehle, FAO Regional Programme Leader. “More efforts need to be made to improve the image of agriculture as a dynamic and future-oriented sector to attract more youth and youth entrepreneurship.”

The forum was organized under the FAO Regional Initiative on empowering smallholders, family farms, and youth, created to ensure more inclusive and sustainable rural development. FAO continues to work under this framework to ensure that more and more young people see a future for themselves in agriculture or rural areas.