Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Introduction.

I wish to thank the organizers of this programme for allowing us participate in this valuable discussion. I wish to share Nigeria experience on similar issue under discussion -  The National Directorate of Employment (NDE)

In 1960s and 1970s, the Nigerian economy provided jobs for the teeming population and also absorbed considerable number of imported labour in the scientific sector. However, following the oil boom of the 1970s, there was a massive migration of youths to urban areas in search of wage employment. The downturn in the economy in the 1980s exacerbated problem of unemployment. Since then successive government s have made several spirited efforts through policies to create jobs and reduce unemployment in the country. One of such efforts is the creation of  the National Directorate of Employment NDE in 1986 to empower the unemployed graduate and unskilled youths to acquire marketable skills that would help them set up their own farm business. The program has recorded both successes and failures.

What are the biggest challenge youth in Africa face after going through development initiatives in agriculture?

The biggest challenge faced by the benefactors of the NDE program is lack of infrastructure.

The decadent state of infrastructure in Nigeria limits the youth effectiveness and remains a barrier to success

Infrastructure such as good roads, good drinking water, electricity, health faculties, and markets are necessities in any agricultural business. Machinery, equipment and farm inputs have to be moved into the farms along roads while the products from the farms have to be transported to areas where they are required in other to make profits and therefore remain in business. The processing, preservation and storage of the products of the farm before marketing require electricity at times. The youth who are the benefactors of this program, like their counterparts also have great attraction for social amenities like good drinking water, schools and good health

Another challenge is that of the pest and diseases which cause the following damage.

a) Large quantities of farm produce are lost both in the field and in the storage

b) They spend extra money in supplying to the farm and in the purchase of chemicals to control the pest and diseases

c) There is reduction in quantity and quality of the farms’ product

What are the examples of existing post capacity development sustainability initiatives for youth in agriculture in Africa? What works and what do not? Are there good stories and good practices that can be shared?

Presently in Nigeria government is developing business centers like Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agencies of Nigerian ( SMEDIAN ) in some states of the country to  provide basic training on needed tools to do business, on how to raise finance and how to manage their personal resources.

The program is effective in the states where it is established

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

• They need finance to continue in the farm business. More SMEDIAN centers should be established in all states of the federation
• They need regular education which will improve efficiency on the farm
• The youth can support themselves through networking, attending Agricultural days,  workshops, seminars and conferences

What enabling environment is needed to ensure sustainability of youth I agriculture capacity development initiative?

Agriculture is capital intensive, agencies that are saddled with the job of empowering the youth in terms of training and financial support should be provided with enough fund to perform their duty

Good roads and other infrastructural supports should be provided

Unfriendly tax regime is affecting the performance of the youth in agriculture. to encourage more investment  agricultural activities should be tax free for some years until agriculture  occupies its rightful position of proving food for man and animals, raw materials for industries and revenue for government

Government could review the curriculum of the nation’s higher institutions and universities to inculcate functional entrepreneurship/ agri-neurship skills in the graduates so that they can become employers rather than employees

Is there a role for modern technologies, including information and communication technologies in sustaining capacity development initiatives?

Yes. The honorable former  minister of Agriculture Dr Adesina introduced the use of mobile phones to contact farmers directly-  He used this medium to provide farmers with fertilizers, improved seeds and finance and technical training on their farm production.

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

The biggest challenge youth face in Africa even after going through youth-specific capacity development initiatives is failure to participate productively in agriculture either as investors or just workers/employees.

In terms of investments, youth are limited by access to affordable finance. Generally in Africa, the bank lending rates are too high which young people cannot afford. In Uganda for instance, the average lending rates for commercial banks is 23% p.a , the highest can even reach 30% p.a. This is really very high for any one intending to invest in agriculture especially with the high risks involved.

I agree with many colleagues who mentioned limited access to land as a key challenge. Yes to some extent but emphasis should focus on enhancing youth access to affordable finance. Once youth have access to funds and given good guidance and appropriate skills, they can invest appropriately in agriculture. Besides, investment in agriculture does not only require land. In circumstances where land is inaccessible, youth such as the urban dwellers and those living in the refugee areas can invest at the upper end of the value chain such as processing/value addition and marketing among others.

In line with finances and the law, some categories of youth are still limited by exiting laws that hinder them from accessing finances. For instance, youth less than 18 years of age in Uganda even if they are above the legal working age of 14 years are assumed to be in schools. They are not legally authorized to contract or be contracted and cannot open up bank accounts unless authorized through a next of kin. On the other hand, youth in the age category 18-30 years who legally qualify to transact and open bank accounts are limited by the need for collateral such as land which most youth lack.

Further, there is lack of mentorship and continuous supervision. In Africa, many initiatives aim at training masses of youth without making follow-up on youth  for proper mentorship. To ensure sustainability and cause impact, youth need to be mentored and continuously supervised even after going through youth-specific capacity development initiatives

Lastly, many capacity development initiatives aim at building capacity of youth to acquire skills to enable them get jobs with less attention on working conditions of youth in agriculture. Therefore youth employees in agriculture continue to work under poor and hazardous conditions. There is need to blend skills development with awareness campaigns on the rights of youth employees for their health and safety.

2. What are the examples of existing post-capacity development sustainability initiatives for youth in agriculture in Africa? What works and what does not? Are there any success stories and good practices that can be shared?

What works? Continuous mentorship, support and guidance of youth guarantees sustainability. Blending successful individual youth with others youth facilitates knowledge sharing and learning. Let me focus my contribution to the FAO youth rewarding mechanism in Uganda known as the youth champions in Agriculture. This initiative entails identification of young entrepreneurs who have developed cutting-edge innovations in agricultural value chain and using them to act as roles models to inspire and build the capacity of their fellow youth. The approach entails using nuclear youth champions as hubs where youth can form groups around the champions for continuous learning/knowledge sharing, collective bargaining and negotiations for better policies among others. Sustainability is ensured because the nuclear champions already have passion for working in groups and supporting communities. The champions also act as mentors to other youth.

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

Youth need continuous mentorship and linking them to financial service providers and better markets. Through youth platforms especially with the current ICT facilities and innovations, youth can support others through information gathering and sharing, advocacy and mentorship.

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

Policy support should facilitate mainstreaming of agriculture and skills development for agriculture in primary and secondary schools curricula. There is also a need to target youth agricultural entrepreneurs to access agribusiness incubation services. This may involve training youth in farming as a business and identifying linkages to agribusiness incubators and financing.

There is however a need to develop and equip research and training institutions in a PPP approach between government and private sector and then linking youth to these institutions for youth incubation and mentorship. In Uganda, government through the National Strategy for youth employment in Agriculture recommends supporting establishment, nurturing of mentoring approaches for all youth categories including provision of start-up support to the 14-17 young persons to complete informal trainings combined with sustained mentoring and coaching.

5. Is there a role for modern technologies, including Information and Communication Technologies, in sustaining capacity development initiatives?

Modern technologies play an important role in facilitating learning and information sharing. Youth can easily adapt and use technologies and ICT facilities to enhance and complement the existing extenstion services required at different levels of the vaue chain.  In Uganda, the FAO youth champions started a whatsup platform where they share information related to their innovations including production and marketing information.

English translation below 

Il faut que nous sachions désormais que la prospérité économique, l’approvisionnement en énergie, la capacité industrielle, la santé personnelle et publique, la sécurité, la qualité de l’environnement etc. dépendent tous désormais de la Connaissance. Bien que la connaissance et la technique soient les principaux capitaux et ressources sociales dans le monde aujourd’hui, elles restent des formes de capitaux toujours mal réparti dans notre monde. L’éducation de qualité chez nous en Afrique est difficilement accessible. Or ce sont les gens qui ont plus de connaissances ou plus accès à la connaissance et à la technique qui ont plus d’avantages et qui enregistrent plus de succès, de croissance, que ceux qui n’en ont pas, car « le succès et la croissance sont fonction de la connaissance reçue ».

L’amélioration significative de la qualité des efforts des gens et leur productivité qui sont recherchés dépendront donc de l’investissement et de la qualité de cet investissement dans le capital humain.

Pour Songhaï, ce concept du capital humain est la mesure de la valeur du savoir, savoir-faire, créativité et humanité qui peut être acquise à travers un investissement de qualité dans la formation. C’est cela qui constituerait un gisement de citoyens constructifs et engagés, d’entrepreneurs, d’inventeurs et de la main-d’œuvre qualifiée recherchée à l’emploi. Dans le monde contemporain, la connaissance est donc devenue le capital principal et la ressource sociale fondamentale. Elle est civilisatrice.

En vue de garantir  le montage du capital humain qui doit s’équiper pour faire face efficacement aux défis du développement, des interventions visant à renforcer les capacités et à impliquer les jeunes dans l’agriculture s’organisent çà et là par différents organismes de développement dont la FAO. Nous allons mettre l’accent sur les points ci-dessous :

• Quels sont les principaux défis rencontrés par les jeunes africains à l’issue des initiatives de développement de capacités axées sur les jeunes dans le secteur agricole?

Comme les uns et les autres l’ont mentionné dans leurs interventions, les jeunes sont confrontés aux défis de non suivi après les sessions de renforcement de capacités. Dans la plus part des cas les interventions s’arrêtent juste à un renforcement de capacités. C’est bien de les équiper de connaissances techniques morales, organisationnelles et managériales qui les amèneront à rendre leurs activités productives mais il ne faudrait pas en faire  simplement un modèle habituel de formation, de transfert de technologie ou de production. Cela devrait être plutôt des opportunités incroyables pour la masse critique de jeunes, un cadre organisationnel et des services favorables  pour les jeunes afin de créer, gérer et mettre en réseau leurs entreprises. Beaucoup de contraintes restent à reculer quand ils redescendent dans l’arène de l’entreprise.

Bref, disons que les jeunes sont confrontés au défis de manque de fonds (pas facile d’obtenir des crédits auprès des banques ou des institutions de micro finances) pour renforcer leurs activités avec un suivi rigoureux qui pourrait permettre de non seulement faire accroitre leur production mais aussi de créer un effet boule de neige dans leur communauté. Les jeunes sont également confrontés au problème de débouchés pour les quelques-uns qui peuvent voler de leurs ailes pour produire. Egalement, il n’y a pas une politique gouvernementale qui encourage, soutient et appuie les bénéficiaires de ces différents programmes, du coup le problème est juste déplacé et non résolu car cela ne permet pas d’avoir et de maintenir les jeunes dans l’agriculture qui reste un secteur terriblement porteur.

• De quel type de soutien les jeunes ont-ils besoin dans la phase postérieure au renforcement des capacités ? Que peuvent faire les jeunes pour s’entraider et renforcer ainsi leurs compétences et leurs capacités ?

Parlant de cette question, les jeunes ont besoin de suivi et accompagnement. C’est très capital. Ceci permettra de suivre la mise en place de leurs initiatives en milieu réel. Ils ont également besoin d’accompagnements technique, financier et managériale (mise en marché des produits), dans la mise en réseau. Des politiques gouvernementales promouvant l’entrepreneuriat par des mesures de facilitation pour les jeunes serait un aimant pour les jeunes afin de se jeter et y rester dans ce domaine.

Pour s’entraider et renforcer leurs compétences et capacités les jeunes doivent se mettre ensemble mais malheureusement, force est de constaté que les jeunes brillent par le désir de réussir seuls. Ils souffrent d’un déficit de co-création, d’action collective. Les jeunes doivent savoir que se réunir est un début, rester ensemble est un progrès, travailler ensemble est la réussite. Alors ils doivent se mettre en réseau, avoir régulièrement des échanges sur leurs pratiques, leurs défis, réussite à travers les « farmers to farmers visit » etc.

• Quel environnement incitatif faut-il assurer pour garantir la permanence des jeunes dans les initiatives de renforcement des capacités dans le secteur agricole ?

Pour avoir les jeunes et les maintenir dans l’agriculture, il faut qu’ils aient des mentors dans les domaines, des mises à niveau sur les nouvelles techniques de productions, des débouchés pour leur production, des structures de financement des entreprises à vocation agricole qui comprennent et tiennent compte des réalités des entreprises agricoles (un monde à part). Une politique d’identification et de récompense d’une manière ou d’une autre des meilleures réussites dans le domaine.

Les jeunes ont besoin d’être accompagnés avec des services tels que le marketing, l'approvisionnement en intrants, les services d'accueil, de réseautage, des prêts financiers  et des services consultatifs afin de leur permettre de rester autonomes, de créer une synergie et une coopération entre eux. Un aspect important à soulever aussi reste vraiment la sélection des personnes qu’il faut pour ces initiatives. Cela leur sera facile d’y rester dans le domaine et d’y amener d’autres à leur emboiter le pas à travers leur réussite. Sur ce il faudra sélectionner ceux qui sont capables d’intérioriser l’agriculture comme un métier digne, de valoriser les ressources disponibles pour créer la richesse, de devenir des leaders susceptibles de créer une dynamique entrepreneuriale, de développer des attitudes et aptitudes qui les mettent dans une logique de culture de succès, de produire des biens et services utiles pour le mieux-être socio-économique de leur communauté, de transformer les avantages comparatifs de leur milieu en avantages compétitifs dans un monde de plus en plus globalisant.

• Les technologies modernes, notamment les technologies de l’information et des communications, ont-elles un rôle à jouer pour assurer la durabilité des initiatives de renforcement des capacités ?

Elles n’ont pas juste un rôle mais un rôle capital dans le sens où elles peuvent être utilisées pour garder le contact avec les différents bénéficiaires et les organisateurs des programmes. Elles permettent de donner des informations sur les météorologies, la pluviométrie, les solutions aux pathologies, etc. de communiquer sur les prix  du marché par rapport à l’activité choisit. Elles vont constituer une plateforme d’apprentissage et de formation pour les jeunes en réseau sur le forum. Elles font créer et maintenir un réseau d’entrepreneurs de par le monde. Elles renseignent sur les différentes opportunités à saisir par les jeunes si disponible.

***

English translation 

From now on, we must realize that economic prosperity, energy supply, industrial capacity, personal and public health, security, environmental quality, etc. all depend on knowledge. Even though knowledge and technology are the main assets and social resources in today's world, there are still forms of capital badly distributed in our world.Good quality education in Africa is difficult to access. Yet it is those who have more knowledge or more access to knowledge and technology who have more advantages and who record more success and growth than those who have nothing, because « success and development are functions of the knowledge received ».

The significant improvement sought in the quality of people’s endeavors and their productivity, will depend on the investment and the quality of this investment in human capital.

For Songhai, this concept of human capital is the measure of the value of knowing, know-how, creativity and humanity which can be acquired through an investment of quality in training. It is this which would create a resource of constructive and engaged citizens, entrepreneurs, inventors and the qualified workforce sought for employment. In today´s world therefore, knowledge has become the main capital and the fundamental social resource. It brings civilization.

In order to guarantee the assembling of human capital that must be prepared to face efficiently the challenges of development, interventions with a view to reinforce capacities and involve young people in agriculture are organized here and there by different development organisms such as FAO. We are going to emphasize the following points:

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

Like others have mentioned in their contributions to this discussion, young people face challenges from a lack of monitoring after the capacity development sessions. In the majority of cases interventions stop at the capacity development. It is fine to give them moral technical, organizational and managerial knowledge which will help to make their activities productive but this should not simply be made into a standard pattern of training, technology transfer or production. It should rather be more about fantastic opportunities for the critical mass of youth, an organizational framework and services in favor of the youth in order to create, steer and network their enterprises. Many obstacles remain to be dealt with when they go back down into the business arena.

In short, let’s say that young people are faced with the challenges of the  lack of funds (it is not easy to find credit with banks or microfinance institutions) needed to reinforce their activities with rigorous monitoring which would allow not only to make production grow but also to create a snowball effect in their community. Young people are equally facing the lack of opportunities for those who are able to strike out on their own in production. At the same time, there is no governmental policy which encourages, supports and backs up the beneficiaries of these different programs, thus the problem is just shifted and not solved because that does not make it possible to get and keep young people in agriculture which stays a very promising sector.

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

Talking about this question, young people need monitoring and backing. It is really essential. This would permit the monitoring of the implementation of their initiatives in the real world. They also need technical, financial and managerial backing (bringing products to market), in networking. Governmental policies which promote entrepreneurship with facilitating measures for the young will be a magnet for the youth to get them to take the plunge and stay in this sector.

To help each other and reinforce their competences and capacities young people should join together but unfortunately, it should be noticed that young people are full of desire to succeed alone. They suffer from a deficit of joint creation and collective action. Young people should know that getting together is a start, staying together is progress, and working together is success. Therefore, they should get into a network, have regular exchanges on their practices, challenges and successes through farmers to farmers’ visits, etc.

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

To have and to keep young people in agriculture, it is necessary that they have mentors in the areas of new production techniques, openings for their production, financing structures for agricultural entreprises which understand and take into account the realities of agricultural business (a world appart).   A policy of identification and reward in one way or another of the best successes in the sector.

Young people need to be backed with services such as marketing, supply of inputs, introductory services, networking, financial loans and consultative services so that they can stay independent, and create a synergy and cooperation between themselves. Also, an important aspect to raise is the selection of the right people for these initiatives. For them it will be easy to stay in the sector and by their success to bring others to follow in their footsteps. In this respect, it  will be necessary to select those who are able to embrace agriculture as a worthy occupation, to take advantage of the available resources for wealth creation, to become leaders capable of creating business momentum, to develop attitudes and abilities that will foment a culture of success within them, to produce goods and services which are useful for the socio-economic wellbeing of their community, to transform the comparative advantages of their environment into competitive advantages in a world more and more globalized.

• Is there a role for modern technologies, including Information and Communication Technologies, in sustaining capacity development initiatives?

They do not have merely a role but a fundamental role in the sense that they can be used to keep contact with the different beneficiaries and organizers of programs. They make it possible to provide weather-forecasts, rain fall, solutions to pathologies, etc., .and to transmit market prices in relation to the activity chosen. They are going to form learning and training platforms for young people in the network on the forum. They create and maintain entrepreneur’s networks around the world. They provide information on the different opportunities open to young people as and when available.

Is there a role for modern technologies, including Information and Communication Technologies, in sustaining capacity development initiatives?

All your contributions on the above question acknowledge the role of modern technologies in sustaining capacity development initiatives, largely by providing platforms/facilities to support post CD activities including networking, access to information services and innovations, business opportunities, lifelong learning opportunities, and on-farm data/information processing.

Modern technologies are needed to:

1. Support networking: enable youth agriprenuers to establish online platforms such as mailing lists, Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups, mobile apps, etc. that could be used to stay in touch with each other and facilitate information/knowledge sharing on modern agricultural technologies, experiences and good practices.
2. Provide platforms for lifelong learning: access to online courses and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) to support personal development.
3. Provide online platforms for mentorship, coaching including virtual interaction with peers and experts.
4. Facilitate access: to ICT-based information and e-advisory services, i.e. SMS-based alert systems, mobile apps, etc. outbreak of pests and diseases, weather information, market information services, financial services, e-extension services, etc.
5. Facilitate access to innovations: provide easy access to information about research, available agricultural technologies (i.e. new varieties of seeds), and other data and tools that are relevant to youth entrepreneurship initiatives.
6. Offer business opportunities: modern technologies offer business opportunities youth agripreneurs and access to distant markets/clients for their products and services.
7. Support on-farm activities: ICT (especially Apps) provides opportunities for on-farm systems for collecting and processing socio-economic and agronomic data (i.e. daily water requirement, measuring starch content, moisture content, etc.) useful to the running of the business.

Are there other opportunities presented by modern technologies that could contribute to sustainability of capacity development interventions targeting youth in agriculture?

Justin Chisenga

English translation below

Bonjour à tous,

Je suis très heureux de participer à ce forum et de débattre une fois de plus de la thématique qui nous réunit.

Les défis sont légions!!! Le premier défi et le plus important est avant ces fameuses initiatives de développement de capacité: c'est celui de la perception de l'agriculture. Regardez autour de vous, l'agriculture est proposée comme roue de secours aux jeunes qui n'ont pas pu s'insérer dans les secteurs souhaités et/ou ventés. Pour vérifier mes propos, c'est simple... demandez aux jeunes lycéens quelle profession voudraient-ils exercer dans l'avenir et vous constaterez. Quel avenir voudrions-nous bâtir avec un mauvais casting!!! Donc le premier défi est culturel et même idéologique, l'entrepreneur rural/agricole se façonne dès le bas âge et avec l'aide de ça communauté (famille, mentor, média, etc.).

Un adage très populaire dit "l'appétit vient en mangeant". Considérons que des initiatives de développement de capacités axées sur les jeunes soient faites avec un mauvais casting. Le deuxième défi à mon avis, est celui de la franchise et de sincérité. Préparer les jeunes en formation à affronter la dure réalité de l'insertion socio-professionnelles en comptant d'abord sur eux. L’agriculture est et demeurera un business avec tout ce que cela comporte (analyse de marché, investissement, gestion, marketing/vente etc.). Comme tel, donc ces initiatives doivent produire des "winners" et des "leaders" qui pensent grand et durable. il s'agit de s'assurer que chaque jeune en formation ou sa famille possède au moins un lopin de terre qui est indispensable pour toute activité agricole. Dans ce sens il devient facile d'accrocher le rêve (entreprenariat) du jeune à une réalité (terre). Faire ainsi, C'est renforcer la conviction et la détermination des jeunes intéressés, et éviterait des promesses fallacieuses de financement qui détournent les intentions des jeunes en formation de l'essentiel.

Maintenant, à l'issue des initiatives de développement des capacités, le défi est conjoncturel et structurel. Sur le plan conjoncturel, il faudrait que les jeunes issues des initiatives soient incubées sur une période de raisonnable afin de parfaire le projet de vie. Les Etats ont l'entière responsabilité de protéger et de soutenir ces jeunes avec des mesures incitatrices (financement, coaching, atelier, etc.). Et sur le plan structurel, l'Etat devra protéger la production local/national à travers des mécanismes d'équité afin de permettre la viabilité des entreprises locales promues par les jeunes. Il s'agira de protéger et promouvoir les produits locaux afin de stimuler la demande au niveau national et international, et d'améliorer quantitativement et qualitativement l'offre national. Mais, toutes ces resterons vaines, si la mesures restent opaque, entachées de corruption et de favoritisme.

Voici ma modeste contribution au débat proposé, en espérant quelle sera d'une quelconque utilité.

***

Hello everyone!

I am very happy to participate in this forum and to debate once again the topic that brings us together.

There is a multitude of challenges!!! The first and most important challenge is, before these famous initiatives for capacity development, how agriculture is perceived. Look around you, agriculture is proposed like a 'spare tyre' to young people who could not gain entry to the desired and/or most popular sectors. To verify my assertion, is simple... ask school children which profession they would like to follow in the future and you will have it confirmed. What future could we construct with a bad casting!!!  Therefore, the first challenge is cultural and even ideological; the future rural/agricultural entrepreneur is shaped from an early age and with the help of the community (family, mentor, media, etc.).

A very old saying "the more you have, the more you want." We think that some capacity development initiatives aimed at the young are based on bad casting. The second challenge, in my view, is openness and sincerity, to prepare young people with training to face the hard reality of socio-professional insertion by relying on them. Agriculture is and will remain a business with everything that that means (market analysis, investment, administration, marketing/sales, etc.). As such, therefore, these initiatives must produce winners and leaders, who think in terms of big and sustainable.  It is about ensuring that each young person in training, or its family, owns at least a piece of land which is indispensable for all agricultural activity. In this sense, it is easy to link the dream (entrepreneurship) of the young person to a reality (land). Doing it like this, will reinforce the conviction and the determination of the young people concerned, and would avoid the misleading promises of funding which distract the intentions of the youth in training from what is essential.

Now then, on the issue of the capacity development initiatives, the challenge is of conjuncture and structure. Concerning conjuncture, the youth emerging from the initiatives must be fostered for a reasonable amount of time so that they may perfect their life plan. The State is entirely responsible for protecting and sustaining these young people with incentives (funding, coaching, workshops, etc.). And concerning structure, the State should protect local/national production through fair trading mechanisms to allow local enterprises promoted by the young to be viable. It will be all  about protecting and promoting local products in order to stimulate demand at national and international level, and to improve quantitatively and qualitatively the national offer. However, all will be in vain if the measures stay secretive, tarnished by corruption and favoritism.

This is my contribution to the debate proposed, hoping that it will be of use.

Dear Moderators,

Thank you for initiating such an important discussion and this is to share my views some of the points. We hope to learn more from the contribution of other and the final synthesis.

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

Africa is heterogeneous, hence the opportunities for African youth in farming is not uniform. One of the challenges is that access to farmland for those who would like to start business is not the same. In countries like Ethiopia, land has been the main stay of the economy and it has reached its climax carrying capacity. The land holding is too small (less than a hectare per household of average 5 members). The interest of youth to stay in agriculture is very low and youth are continually migrating to other sector (if available) or out migrating in search of better opportunities elsewhere. Any global intervention to support youth in agriculture should take into consideration different feasible paths for the land-constrained regions and those with possibilities for land expansion. The capacity building for youth from land constrained communities should focus on farming business that require less land and water resources. Most training so far are on dairy, irrigation, vegetable production, seed multiplication and the like but these assume land availability. Hence, post-training, youth face constrained situation in terms of land availability and poorly developed land markets to exercise their skills. We need to develop context specific capacity building programs for the rural youth in Africa. There are initiatives in Ethiopia, like in the Tigray region, where landless youth are allocated rehabilitated hillsides. In the Tigray region, 65% of the land is not suitable for conventional farming because of topographic constraints. However, youth group are allocated some of the rehabilitated community lands to develop suitable hillside farms. This may ease temporary problems but the long-term consequences depend on how the youth group will manage the land. Capacity building efforts in this line should take such condition and that youth are trained to overcome such challenges. Beyond land availability, youth should have access to finance and technology.

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

Sustaining the collective action among key stakeholders supporting youth is important. Most support service for the youth are seasonal and uncoordinated. The youth should be encouraged to work in groups and collaborate along the value chain to maximize their opportunities and address the challenges they face along the way. Most youth may engage in production individually but when it comes to post-production activities working in group (as marketing groups and unions) may enable them to create functional value chains in their favour.

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

The policy support for the youth in terms of clear land tenure rights, access to finance, nonpartisan approach, and other enabling condition along the value chain is important. In some countries, the youth groups are based on political party affiliations and access to support services are conditional. Hence, all youth should have equal access to land, financing and the like without any political biasedness. Government should create for private investment in agro-processing sector to diversify the market options for commodities produced by the youth.

Is there a role for modern technologies, including Information and Communication Technologies, in sustaining capacity development initiatives?

A huge role. IT based platforms can create enabling conditions for transparency in implementation of youth support programs, providing continuous support in terms of information on production systems, marketing, business opportunities and life-long learning to youth post training. IT can be a good platform for mentoring and coaching of youth engaged in farming business and to facilitate access to expert advice on demand.

With kind regards,

Girmay Tesfay

Mekelle University, Ethiopia

In order to feed a world of nine billion people by 2050, we need more people working in agriculture in all its forms. Despite the universal agreement on the importance of agriculture to our future, we are not succeeding in attracting young people to the field. While the reasons for this are many, we believe that one central problem in the context of capacity-development programs is insufficient attention to the creation and maintenance of meaningful and supportive networks post-program.

Many excellent capacity-development programs for young agricultural leaders exist; a few inspiring examples have already been mentioned in this discussion. To the credit of those programs illustrated here, several of them highlight the importance of their post-program network. We believe that formal, committed networks – which, depending on context, might connect people in a particular geographical area; build relationships between new farmers and experienced ones; improve integration between various actors along the food value chain; provide fora for discussing problems and solutions across locales; and more – serve many functions in supporting impactful young agricultural leaders. First, being part of a formal network helps increase access to investment and mitigate risk, since networks multiply connections. This fact is particularly essential to youth, whose individual networks may not provide the resources they need to begin their careers in agriculture. Second, networks, even largely virtual ones, help to satisfy social needs that can be compromised when one chooses a life in agriculture. They also provide opportunities for formal and informal mentorship. Third, and perhaps most importantly, active networks create an enabling environment in which partnerships between agripreneurs are born. Active networks can be considered in some ways as incubators for grassroots problem-solving of not only SDG2 but many of the other goals as well.

Modern technology can and should absolutely play a central role in establishing and maintaining networks of support, enabling knowledge sharing, and encouraging innovation. While having strong connections with other farmers and agripreneurs in one’s geographical area provides one type of essential support, the nature of technology provides a complement to local knowledge in the form of geographically diverse problem solving. Activating such networks is not only a key way to fast-track the implementation of solutions; it is also a way to clarify to young agricultural leaders that they are part of a meaningful global profession, not a lone farmer in the field.

If we wish to celebrate agriculture as a profession that is modern, profitable, and cool, then farmers and agripreneurs cannot be perceived as isolated people hidden in rural locales. They must be socially, intellectually, and financially engaged with other farmers, processors, distributors, vendors, researchers, restaurateurs, and all food chain actors. Accomplishing this means investing not only in capacity development programs themselves but also in post-program networks that are productive, solutions-oriented, and specifically designed to meet young agricultural leaders’ needs.

Dear 

It's an interesting policy issue that you brought on board; which a vicious circle effect. 

1. In Ethiopia though policies are in most cases driven by the interests of politicians yet youths partcipate in the agricultural production by their own notice to create capital especially on the irrigated farmining system. Most of the commercial agricultural system is monopolized with invisible inteference of politicians for instance the poultry sector in country. If the government create an enabling environment it will craft not only production increament on a competative base it also have the ability to absorb unemployment and other circular effects in the economy system at macro level. 

2. There is no any plat form that I know of especially for agriculture youth but there are political issue plat form for youth. This is more African type of problem to be solved that needs an attention at a policy level.

3. On some condition rewards can have negative impacts unless caution is under taken for many reasonal level of objectives. Rewards and incentive are given in most cases to high level investors I don't know why? 

English translation below

Quels sont les principaux défis rencontrés par les jeunes africains à l’issue des initiatives de développement de capacités axées sur les jeunes dans le secteur agricole?

Au Sénégal la CARITAS a eu à former des jeunes issus de milieu  pauvres entre les années 70 et  80.

Suite à cette formation de deux ans dans des centres agricoles avec un statut d’internat, un équipement complet a été fourni à la fin de la formation et ces jeunes travaillaient la terre et cultivaient des melons, des pastèques des tomates et du gombos. L’aviculture était intégrée à ces exploitations agricoles. La production était bonne car ils exportaient même dans les marchés extérieurs.

Des techniciens encadreurs les accompagnaient pour la commercialisation des produits

La gestion et la crédit bancaire sont arrivés au bout de quelques années à mettre à genou l’initiative.

La faillite a suivi et toutes les exploitations ouvertes par la Caritas ont été fermées. Jusqu’à ce jour il n’y a plus  eu de repreneurs.

Comme défis à souligner je peux citer  les intermédiaires entre les producteurs et les consommateurs

Le crédit bancaire aux pauvres jeunes sans aucun héritage consistant  et  aux couches vulnérables ; Le manque de formation en finance dans la création e richesse.

Connaissez-vous des exemples d’initiatives actuelles visant à assurer la pérennité de renforcement des capacités pour les jeunes africains dans le domaine agricole? Qu’est-ce qui fonctionne et qu’est-ce qui ne fonctionne pas? Y a-t-il des exemples d’initiatives réussies et de bonnes pratiques à partager?

Suite à la Caritas le projet maitrisards et le projet ANPEJ étaient théorisés et mis en application entre la décennie 80 des Socialistes et en 2OOO avec le régime libébéral  le résultat est le même . Les échecs sur le terrain et la mauvaise gestion des Agences ont produits de mauvais résultats.

Avec le régime actuel des fermes ANIDA ouvertes dans les villages emploient des jeunes plus ou moins formés sur les risques d’échecs qui peuvent survenir e t la prise en compte de la dimension des remboursements des crédits et les subsides réels à partager après récoltes par les exploitants

Sociologiquement cette manière de faire engendre toujours des conflits d’intérêts entre bénéficiaires et

Divise tôt ou tard le groupe des collaborateurs.

De quel type de soutien les jeunes ont-ils besoin dans la phase postérieure au renforcement des capacités? Que peuvent faire les jeunes pour s’entraider et renforcer ainsi leurs compétences et leurs capacités?

Former des jeunes et les soutenir techniquement et sociologiquement peut prévenir les conflits et cultiver la patience dans la création des richesses serait une approche.

Mais En agriculture, les résultats sont à long terme pour un groupe de personnes issus de milieu différents et ne partageant pas les mêmes besoins matériels .

Les leçons apprises ci-dessus et cette vérité  sur  les besoins  matériels me font douter de l’emploi des jeunes dans l’agriculture comme solution au chômage en Afrique au SUD du SAHARA. Même s’il est pour un temps un semblant de solution, il arrivera au mauvais moment une décadence dévastatrice des projets individuels circonscrits dans la volonté politique qui voudrait fournir un emploi à chaque citoyen et surtout aux jeunes majoritaires dans les villes et  villages .

Une meilleur approche existe dans les projets de l’ASCFM appelés  la redynamisation des grands champs familiaux. En fixant les jeunes d’un même village on détruit progressivement les germes du chômage adressé dans les villes par l’exode des jeunes ruraux.

Quel environnement favorable faut-il assurer pour garantir la permanence des jeunes dans les initiatives de renforcement des capacités dans le secteur agricole?

J’attache beaucoup de pris à la formation en agriculture .Familiariser les héritiers de la culture de l’arachide et du coton  à la compréhension des nouvelles techniques agricoles  et de protections de l’environnement ouvriraient de nouveaux comportements aux producteurs.

Les technologies modernes, notamment les technologies de l’information et des communications, ont-elles un rôle à jouer pour assurer la durabilité des initiatives de renforcement des capacités?

Les moyens technologiques de l’information et de la communication rapprocheront les producteurs de la bonne information sur les sols, les végétaux, les micronutriments, la dégradation, la régénération des sols, l’arboriculture, les intrants agricoles l’agriculture intelligente ou résiliente au changement climatique. Seul la formation peut jouer ce rôle tès important pour INFLUENSER  l’avenir de l’Agriculture en Afrique AU SUD du SAHARA.

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

In Senegal, Caritas has trained the young from poor backgrounds between the 1970s and 1980s.

After these two years of training with residence in agricultural centers, complete equipment was provided at the end of the training, and the young worked the land cultivating melons, watermelons, tomatoes and okra. Poultry farming was integrated with these agricultural operations. The production was good because they exported even to external markets.

Administrative technicians assisted them in marketing of products.

Administration and bank credit arrived after some years and brought the initiative to its knees.

Bankruptcy followed and all the operations opened by Caritas were closed down. Until today, there has been no one to take them up again.

As challenges to be emphasized, I can point out the middle-men between producers and consumers; bank credit to the impoverished youth with no relevant experience and to vulnerable households; the lack of training in finance for the creation of wealth.

What are the examples of existing post-capacity development sustainability initiatives for youth in agriculture in Africa? What works and what does not?  Are there any success stories and good practices that can be shared?

Following Caritas, the master's project and the ANPEJ project were thought up and implemented during the Socialist years of the 1980s and in the year 2000, with the liberal regime, the result is the same. The failures in the field and bad management by the Agencies have produced poor results.

With the present regime, the ANIDA farms opened in the villages employ young people more or less prepared on the risks of failure that could come about and, on taking into account the scale of credit paybacks and the real subsides to be shared by farmers after the harvest.

Sociologically, this form of operating always creates conflicts of interest between the beneficiaries and divisions sooner or later within the group of collaborators.

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

Training the young and supporting them technically and sociologically could prevent conflicts and fostering patience in the creation of wealth would be an approach.

But, in agriculture the results are long term for a group of people from different backgrounds and who do not share the same material needs.

The lessons learnt here and this truth about the material needs make me doubt the employment of young people in agriculture as the solution of unemployment in South Saharan Africa. Even if for a time there is a semblance of a solution, at the wrong moment there will occur a devastating collapse of individual projects defined  by the political desire to provide a job to each citizen and in particular to the young majorities in towns and villages.

Better approaches are the ASCFM projects, calling for the redynamization of the large family fields. By holding in place the young people of the same village one progressively eliminates the origins of the unemployment faced in the towns by the exodus of the rural young.

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

I consider very important the training in agriculture. Familiarizing those who inherit the production of peanuts and cotton with the understanding of new agricultural techniques and the protection of the environment will bring about new behavior in the producers.

Is there a role for modern technologies, including Information and Communication Technologies, in sustaining capacity development initiatives?

Modern technologies of information and communication will bring the producers closer to reliable information regarding land, vegetables, micronutrients, degradation, regeneration of soils, tree growing, agricultural inputs, intelligent farming or  that which is resilient to climate change. Only training can fulfil this important role to INFLUENCE the future of farming in South Saharan Africa.

English translation below 

Bonjour tout le monde,

Merci à la FAO de nous avoir donné cette opportunité.

J'aimerais intervenir sur la quesion suivante:

Existe-t-il des exemples bons dans vos pays ou dans votre environnement de travail, sur l'autre des points suivants, vous vous voulez faire partie de cette discussion?

1. Des politiques qui ont créé un environnement favorable à la participation des jeunes à l'agriculture.

Au Togo, l'Etat a mis en place des outils d'appui technique et financier qui créent un environnement favorable à la participation des jeunes à l'agriculture. Je pourrais citer le FAIEJ, le FNFI, le PRADEB, le PAEIJ.

Nardy Green Planet bénéficie de l'appui du FAIEJ depuis 2015.

2. Plateformes permettant aux jeunes agriculteurs de participer à des décisions qui touchent.

Aucune plateforme n'existe au Togo. Nardy Green Planet travaille sur un projet de création d'une communauté de pratique pour faciliter le partage de connaissances et de bonnes pratiques entre les jeunes entrepreneurs appuyés par l'Etat, les IMFs et banques et l'Etat.

3. Système de récompenses et d'incitations pour motiver les jeunes à s'impliquer dans le secteur agricole.

Au Togo, l'Etat développe des méthodes pour récompenser et inciter les jeunes à s'impliquer dans le secteur agricole. Par exemple en 2015, l'Etat a organisé un forum de développement durable au cours duquel les 10 meilleurs projets verts ont été appuyés techniquement et financièrement. Nous (Nardy Green Planet) avons été lauréat de ce forum. Les appuis techniques et financiers dont nous avions bénéficié nous ont permis de développer une startup spécialisée dans la production de jeunes plants d'espèces à forte valeur environnementale et dans l'accompagnement des agriculteurs à la mise en place de parcelles agroforestières et agro écologiques.

Agbessi.

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Hello everyone!

Thank you to FAO for giving us this opportunity.

I would like to comment on the following:

Are there good examples in your countries or in your working environment, on any of the following points, would you like to share them in this discussion?

1. Policies have created a favorable environment for youth participation in agriculture.

In Togo, the State has implemented technical and financial support tools which create a favorable environment for the participation of young people in agriculture. I could mention the FAIEJ, FNFI, PRADEB and PAEIJ.

Nardy Green Planet has benefited from the support of FAIEJ since 2015.

2. Platforms enabling the young farmers to participate in the decision making that concerns them.

There are no platforms in Togo. Nardy Green Planet works on a project of creating a practical demonstration community to enable sharing of knowledge and good practices between the young entrepreneurs supported by the State, the MFIs and the banks.

3. System of rewards and incentives to motivate the young to getting involved in the agricultural sector.

In Togo, the State evolves methods to reward and incentivate young people to get involved in the agricultural sector. For example, in 2015, the State organized a sustainable development forum in which the best 10 green projects were supported technically and with funds. We (at Nardy Green Planet) were awarded at that forum. The technical and financial support received has enabled us to develop a startup specializing in the production of seedlings of species of great environmental value and to support farmers in establishing agro-forestry and agro-ecological plots.

Agbessi.