Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Dear Sir / Madam,

I think that agriculture sector is boring something so that it is not attracted to the youth engagement. Meanwhile, they focused and lured by S&T, economic, finance, IT, engine and automation and art.

Experience and evidence in history  proofed that labor movement is from rural to city so that we should know this to deliver nice suggestion. To my knowledge, please see my presentation as link below to find  sound solutions. In fact, if policy maker consider agriculture sector as a market for another sectors. You will find sound one.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347949715_PLANT_GENETIC_RESOUR…

Best regards,

KIEN

Congratulations on a comprehensive first draft.

One comment i have is that I feel that the discussion on agricultural global trade is missing. This is critical for rural transformation and breaking the path dependence. I understand that it’s a sensitive topic however.

May I also point to the report (joint collaboration with FAO Bernd’s team) The Future of Rural Youth in Developing Countries https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/the-future-of-rural-youth-in-developing-countries_9789264298521-en which talks about rural youth aspirations, includes cases of youth-sensitive programmes and also recommendations of youth-sensitive policy making.

All our EU-OECD youth inclusion project publications can be found here: http://www.oecd.org/dev/inclusivesocietiesanddevelopment/youth-inclusion-project.htm

Looking forward to seeing how it develops and contributing to it.

Overall comment (although this is already well captured in the report)

Sustainable food systems should be based on supporting a transition towards Agroecology which holds a lot of potential to create meaningful and fulfilling jobs but requires strong effort and investment in education. Hereafter is an extract from a technical paper on Agroecology & COVID19 highlighting the potential of Agroecology for youth which could contribute to the report (pending publication, FAO, 2021):  

Agroecological systems are highly diverse and complex because they are based on the careful management of the various elements of the socio-ecological system. Therefore, the management of agroecological systems is usually more knowledge and labour intensive than that of systems based on industrial modes of agriculture. This offers ample possibilities to create decent jobs in the agricultural sector, involving diverse areas of competence spanning from ecology to marketing to rural development. However, knowledge management is an integral part of agroecology. Therefore, dedicated efforts are needed to build the workforce equipped with the required competencies to fill these jobs across the value chain and food system. Calls to invest in and adapt information systems for famers, such as extension and advisory services, as well as scaling up capacity development as a reaction to the current crisis and a precondition for rural development and increased attractiveness of the agricultural sector have been made (FAO 2020b; Gregorio and Ancog 2020). However, besides that call, major investments need to be directed towards education (both academic and vocational) focusing on integrated sustainable agriculture including agroecological approaches. Besides the teaching and disseminating of knowledge on agroecological production practices, such as diverse cropping systems (agroforestry, inter-, cover- and relay cropping, crop rotations, integrated livestock and crop production systems etc.), soil fertility management (integrated nutrient management, building of soil organic matter, reduced tillage etc.) and integrated pest management (Wezel 2017; Altieri and Nicholls 2020), these curricula should also include business, infrastructure, and marketing skills for the development of strong and resilient local, regional and global marketing opportunities for agroecological products. These investments in education are needed to equip the young generation with the skills required to perform the high quality, knowledge-intensive jobs needed to develop and sustain agroecological systems. However, this needs to be connected with investments targeted at increasing the value of high-quality agricultural products (certification, protected origin etc.) and payment for ecosystem services and other externalities. Moreover, consumers’ understanding and awareness of the importance and value of sustainable practices in agricultural production, processing, and distribution needs to be raised in order to increase the readiness of buyers to pay appropriate prices for agroecological products. Jobs will only be attractive if salaries are competitive (which they are often not in the agricultural sector); in other words, the value created by agroecological systems (and the people working therein) must be paid for.

An example of an interesting youth network promoting organic farming is the Y-Farm in the Mekong region: Mekong Youth Farm Network (Y-Farm) is developed by enthusiastic youth of the countries in Mekong region. Y-Farm focuses on issues related to youth and farming activity in the region. Y-Farm develops an eco-system for engaging youth (young volunteers) with farming sector and related activities: which include Teaching farm, School farm/garden, Organic farming, Youth farmers and community farm. We, Y-Farm are under manages by Warm Hold Association which is Charity, Non-Profit and Local Organisation in Vietnam.

Other policy frameworks which could be referred to

• United Nations (UN). 2018. United Nations Youth Strategy - Youth 2030: Working with and for Young People
• IFAD’s Youth Action Plan supporting green economy and employment 
• FAO Rural Youth Action Plan (2021-2025)

Specific comments / suggestions

Page 25: Many parts of the world, but particularly Asia and Africa, are experiencing a “feminization of agriculture” or agrarian transitions that are deeply gendered (De Schutter, 2013). In South Asia, studies have shown how this has led to the reconfiguration of gender roles and an increase in women’s power and autonomy, but only in a few contexts (Pattnaik et al., 2018; Sugden et al., 2014).

• Not only this but also women are leading the transformation that is needed for sustainable food system. The case of the ZBNF in Andhra Pradesh is very interesting in that sense since its promoters acknowledge that the success of the uptake and dissemination of ZBNF practice relies mostly on strong involvement of women self-help groups

Page 30: Digital tools - especially those that increase access to information have “significant potential to improve efficiency, equity, and environmental sustainability in the food system” by reducing transaction costs to link sellers and buyers, increasing access to markets and broader sources of knowledge, providing evidence-bases for farmer decision making such as climate and market forecasts (World Bank, 2019). These technologies may help lower the costs of linking sellers and buyers; reduce inequalities in access to information, knowledge, technologies, and markets; help farmers make more precise decisions on resource management by providing, processing, and analyzing an increasing amount of data faster; and potentially reduce scale economies in agriculture, thereby making small-scale producers more competitive (World Bank, 2019).

• In South East Asia, it can also be mentioned that new technologies are somehow supporting a new generation of farmers (mostly organic / agroecological ones) who move back to rural areas after being graduated and spending time in cities and develop farms with innovative marketing approaches (Facebook groups, direct sales, basket sales…) & diversification of on and off farm activities (agro-tourism for instance)
• Cases studies and examples in the publication Agroecology Futures / part 4 on Agroecology & people, building the capacities of a new generation of Agroecology promoters: https://ali-sea.org/new-publication-agroecology-futures-inspiring-and-i…;

Page 35: 3.1.3. Reimagining access to land for young people: Examples of good practices 

• Example of the Land Use Certificate scheme in Bhutan where the government is allocating land and providing training / upskilling mechanism to re-engage the youth in agriculture

Page 43 / Markets: 

• Example of the Community Supported Agriculture Network (CSA) in China where youth represents a very important part of the new (organic) farmers which is also encourages by the government policy
• Example of Open Food Network (OFN), an innovative initiative which has proven to be very relevant in the context of the pandemic. OFN is present in 9 countries. It is a global network of people and organizations working together to build a new food system through the development of open and shared resources, knowledge and software. It envisions a decentralized food system, made up with thousands of independent and diverse distribution hubs reconnecting producers to customers. Amongst the activities of OFN, it promotes open source and community-controlled platforms which both enables farmers to connect to eaters and to collaborate with other farmers. They help creating food collectives, managing food hubs, taking farmers’ market online with pre-purchases… These platforms offer an excellent example about how digitalization can work better for smallholders and consumers, while promoting sustainable approaches (given that they are mostly developed in support to organic and agroecological farming). It is very much youth centered 

Page 54 ICT & extension: 

• Example of Digital Green in India relying on video is a very successful example (it is a partner of FAO for both the work in Andhra Pradesh on ZBNF and for ComDevAsia for the communication plan of the UNDFF in Asia Pacific)

IFOAM - Organics International welcomes the consultation process on the HLPE report “Promoting youth engagement and employment in agriculture and food systems” and appreciates the opportunity to send comments and contributions. 

The agricultural production brings several risks (e.g. extreme weather events, fluctuant prices) that are usually taken only by farmers. These risks, and their financial implications are a too big burden for the youth, as they are usually lacking the capital, expertise and connections to overcome them. All these factors have discouraged young people to engage with agricultural production for the last decades. These have created several issues, including the risk of losing the traditional agricultural knowledge, the potential loss of traditional crops and have created a generation gap in rural areas. These come with social consequences, such as parents in the production areas left without help, limiting the extent to which innovations can be made. That increases the risk linked to agricultural production and thus, pushing small-scale agriculture further towards becoming a subsistence activity in the long run. 

Youth has also the potential to bring to the agricultural production some of the things needed to change the dynamics between the production and consumption areas. The changes on the consumption patterns in the urban areas, shifting to healthier, more diverse and locally-produced food were largely lead by young people. However, these shifts in consumption did not have yet a positive impact on local small-scale farmers or the youth living in the rural areas. In this sense, changes in the consumption did not trigger yet any changes on the governance on the production side. The agricultural production needs innovation, added-value, a better understanding and better communication with the markets. All these factors will improve when youth are involved in that part of food systems. The youth, through their easier connection with consumers can help reduce the communication gaps (e.g. easier access to market prices, identifying consumers’ preferences and trends) and as a consequence increase the outreach of their products and improve their incomes. Therefore, youth should be considered agents of change to transform food systems as a whole.

Although most young people all over the world are less interested in farming, organic agriculture demonstrated to be attractive for young people. They decide to stay in the countryside or do farming from the cities.  Organic farming, thanks to taking care of the health of nature and human beings and improving farmers livelihood, is a lot more appealing to younger generations. Looking at the consumption side, families with younger consumers, in general, prefer organic fruits and vegetables than consumers of any other age group. While 50 years ago it represented only a minority, now it is a well-known phenomenon in developed countries.

In Italy [1] for example, young people between 20 and 39 years old run 22% of organic farms, and only 9% of the total number of farms. It is a similar case, although with a less marked difference, for the immediately following age group, with an age not exceeding 64. The younger age is also associated with a higher average qualification of the farmer. In Europe [2], data on organic farmers shows that they tend to be generally younger than the average conventional farmers. Age distribution of farmers managing farms with some organic area and those without is also strikingly different: farmers younger than 55 represent 61.3% of the organic sector and only 44.2% of the conventional sector.

The trend is also present, though to a smaller scale, in the global south. Unfortunately, data are lacking for most of these countries, but we have a lot of positive stories and projects of youth employment in organic farming in Latin America, Asia and Africa. 

The Nutrition in Mountain Agroecosystems (NMA) project [3], through its Micro-initiatives and the SUNSAIs (Scaling-Up Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture Initiatives) is supporting the introduction of technologies and practices in the organic production in mountain agroecosystems in Peru, Ecuador, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Ethiopia. Through these initiatives, the NMA project is aiming to introduce elements of innovation, awareness raising and behavioral change that can attract and need the involvement of the youth. These include post-harvest processing, introduction of protein sources, recovery of traditional crops, school gardens among others that target and benefit the youth. Most of these initiatives support local farmers’ entrepreneurship and encourage them to access markets and increase their income. We have a collection of examples of these interventions where change is being led by young people. They see an opportunity in organic agriculture to not only improve their health and diets, but also their livelihoods. The NMA project has proven that young people play a key role when it comes to steering and promoting changes in local diets, motivating families to make a change and resourcefully finding connection with the markets.

[1] Bioreport 2013, Rete Rurale Nazionale, 2013 www.reterurale.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/13373

[2] Facts and figures on organic agriculture in the European Union, European Commission, 2016 https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rica/pdf/Organic_2016_web_new.pdf

[3] The Project is managed by IFOAM Organics International, FIBL, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation and Wageningen University https://www.ifoam.bio/our-work/how/facilitating-organic/nutrition-mountain-agro

Dear FSN Moderation,

Please find attached the CSM Collective contribution to the HLPE e-consultation on the V0 draft of the Report “Promoting Youth engagement and employment in agriculture and food systems”.

Kind regards

Teresa Maisano

Dear HLPE Forum Moderator, 

It is my pleasure to submit the feedback of the United States of America on the Zero Draft of the HLPE Report on Youth Engagement and Employment in Agriculture and Food Systems. 

We look forward to keep engaging with your team as we seek viable pathways for greater engagement and employment of youth people in the Agriculture and Food systems.

Feel free to contact me for further discussions or clarification.

Best regards, 

Paul

The youth should also be differentiated according to their location whether urban or rural. In rural areal even though knowledge may be available, network challenges is discouraging access to this. At times converting available knowledge into an opportunity is limited and hence the continuation of lack of interest.



Patriarchal system are still dominant and prohibits women to develop an interest in agriculture which is still regarded as a men’s job. inheritance of property including land is still shared along gender lines with women still fighting recognition.



Those that were picked up for support by government initiatives do not have mentors to sustain them in the agricultural sector of their choice.  Survival is defined also along Networks one has. youth at this stage have limited access to available networks and cannot manoeuvre their way to sustainability. Land claims promoted in South Africa we initiated by adults who then have formed CPAs that only see youth a beneficiaries and not participating equal partners. they are then coopted to be frustrated by their adult parents within the land claims. This further promotes agri as an adult affair. Government considers the ration of their inclusion but not their meaningful participation or checking the programs in which youth are engaged. Therefore their inclusion is not an answer without analysing the nature of programmes.



Some have qualified in agriculture but awaits to be employed rather than creating employment for themselves and this further limits their access to opportunities.



Urban areas are still burgeoning for the young adults who faces scorn if involved  in agricultural activities those. This is because those working are considered as cheap labourers without a decent future. they do not own means of production nor benefit much from the proceeds of agricultural practice. This further dampen the interest. Lucrative job opportunities promoted for youth are those in urban areas.



Education at lower levels does not include agricultural knowledge and by the time the young adult develops an interest, only then is the young person discriminated along irrelevant mix of subjects that do not qualify them into field to pursue agriculture.



Resources such as water is scarce and investment into this is at at a great cost. The agricultural risk as well as lack of access to markets reduces their involvement.

Dear HLPE Steering Committee,

Thank you for leading this consultation process in such a transparent manner. I had the pleasure to participate in the relevant online consultation in 2020, and I am excited to review this excellent draft report providing the bigger picture regarding the current status of youth engagement and employment, the benefits and limitations they have been encountering in this context, and how to ensure that youth are included as key actors and advocates for sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems.

I strongly acknowledge your message that “The future of agriculture and sustainable food systems depend on the youth”, and yet the level of support/resources/agency provided for youth needs significant improvement. This has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, setting aside the likely drastic longer-term impact of climate change. It is inevitable that with the disruption of food systems due to the COVID-19 impact, all forms of malnutrition, including micronutrient malnutrition, will drastically increase. However, the pandemic also shed light on several innovative initiatives and technologies that would require youth taking the lead, as catalyzers and key agencies, to adopt and implement towards a sustainable, inclusive, resilient, and healthy future.

This report is timely, considering the roles youth can play in reaching the key global targets. There are less than ten years left to meet the 2030 SDG goals; five years to meet 2025 WHA targets, and we are already five years into the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition. In 2021, the year of action on nutrition, several activities will occur, including the Nutrition for Growth and, UN Food Systems summit, and other high-level, multi-stakeholder events. At the same time, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East are experiencing a youth "bulge". More than two-thirds of the population is under 35 years of age in the Middle East and North Africa region. Facilitating youth entrepreneurship to generate sustainable, well-paying jobs using youth-inclusive innovations/approaches/policies and programs, positioned in the frame of nutritious food systems will ensure the sustainability of agriculture and healthier diets for future generations. Young entrepreneurs are both adopters and drivers of innovation, technology (including digital technology), and growth in the agri-food sector.

Nutrient enrichment of crops through biofortification is the process of conventionally breeding staple food crops that have higher levels of essential micronutrients such as iron, zinc, and vitamin A. There is substantial evidence that biofortification contributes to reaching key global commitments by tackling hidden hunger, which has been more widespread for the last decades when compared with hidden hunger. It has a direct impact on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 to achieve zero hunger and provide access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food and SDG 3 to ensure good health and promote well-being for all. By targeting smallholder farmers whose diets rely on staple foods and who have limited access to nutritious foods or other nutrition interventions, biofortification ensures that "no one is left behind" in the fight against hidden hunger worldwide. This impact is magnified by youth entrepreneurs who magnify productivity through technology and extend the reach of these nutritionally enriched crops through food marketing and product development.

In the 2017 HLPE Report on nutrition and food systems, biofortification is integrated into Figure 15 on improved food systems for better diets and nutrition, as an example of policies/programs that increase nutrition in the supply chain.

Biofortification is equitable as staple foods are consumed by all members of a family – regardless of age or gender – unlike other nutritious foods (such as animal source foods, which may be preferentially consumed by male members). It is inclusive; these nutrient-enriched crops empower women from the farm through the value chain, often delivering beyond nutrition with shorter cooking windows or better food processing characteristics. As an innovative technology, it can attract youth to the nexus of agriculture, food systems, and nutrition. It aims to empower the agripreneurs in nutritionally enriched food value chains from farm to fork and nourish all, particularly children, adolescent girls, and women of child-bearing age. 

Some examples of our work engaging/capacitating the youth are below:

- Nigeria: https://www.harvestplus.org/knowledge-market/in-the-news/biofortificati…

- Uganda: https://www.harvestplus.org/knowledge-market/in-the-news/ugandan-youth-…

- Zimbabwe: https://www.harvestplus.org/knowledge-market/in-the-news/reaching-sky-a…

Biofortification is a robust nutrition response amidst COVID-19. Integrating biofortified crops in the food systems is a sustainable way to build resilience, as those crops are produced locally, rely on short supply chains, can be stored for an extended period of time, and are therefore more resilient to global supply chain disruptions and shocks. As also highlighted in the draft, even amidst COVID-19, youth employment in primary production/agriculture has been much more resilient. Youth’s adoption of such local and impactful innovations that require minimum behavior change, and are scalable and cost-effective, will improve their livelihood and contribution to a healthier planet.

Research is now demonstrating that zinc nutrient-enriched crops can play a critical role in addressing noncommunicable diseases, especially type 2 diabetes, providing a consistent supply, unlike supplementation.

HarvestPlus, as part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health, works with over 600 partners worldwide to improve human nutrition and health by biofortification and through the entire value chain, from farm to plate. Up to date, 24 developing countries have included biofortification in their policies/programs, and more than 240 nutritious, climate-smart, high-yielding, biofortified varieties have been released in 30 countries. As the CEO of HarvestPlus, I look to food systems founded on nutritionally enriched staple foods, with youth playing a major role in embracing innovative technology in farming and food systems, to transform their food systems to nourish future generations enabling them to reach their full potential and growth. For instance, research has shown that regular consumption of iron beans reduced iron deficiency, improved brain and cognitive performance for Rwandan female university students, and consuming these nutrient-enriched also improved physical work efficiency for young women (18-26 y). And, consuming iron pearl millet improved cognitive performance and physical performance and activity in adolescent children.

Given all the evidence on the impact and biofortification’s proven potential in engaging and empowering the youth, I would recommend that you kindly consider including biofortification in the context of question 3 about the roles/factors that make farming/integration in food systems an attractive option, and question 6 seeking successful policy initiatives that have improved youth employment and engagement in agriculture and food systems.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have follow-up questions.  It would also be my pleasure to share additional resources and participate in future steps of the consultative process if that would prove helpful.  

Yours Sincerely,

Arun Baral

The role of youth in the agricultural sector is important in several aspects, especially on the future side of food security, because the lack of youth participation will lead to the loss of a large segment of society in food production, and there are several areas in which young people can be employed in agriculture by fully supporting in terms of expertise and financing projects  Young people and opening small and medium enterprises to obtain income in the long run and giving them groups of them opportunities to establish specialized companies to meet the market need and create a field to achieve profits by marketing their products.