Sustaining African Youth in Agriculture
Congratulations to all the young people practising agriculture and related enterprises. It is a great achievement from the perspective of one who was a youth when the common narrative was that agriculture, especially small scale agriculture was for those who failed to qualify for “office” jobs – or was it a trick used by our parents to keep us in school?
We now know it differently. Whatever career choice one makes, agriculture remains a noble profession. No human being; billionaires, world leaders, the monetary poor, or the young, can survive without food and other agricultural products. Does that sound like one can never go wrong with agriculture as a career choice?
Yes, with a lot of encouragement and support
- The need for society to start accepting agriculture as a career choice and a sustainable way of providing a livelihood. Parents and teachers to reserve their comments whenever children talk of farming as one of their dreams. Schools to divert from using farm activities as punishment to students.
- Learning and training institutions to develop curricular that embraces both family farming and commercial agricultural production as potential activities on land. The result will be that youth who lack access to large parcels of land will be willing to start from family land. Kitchen gardens have proven a success in the achievement of food and nutritional security at the household level.
- Capacity development to focus on agriculture as a system comprised of activities from land/livestock, harvesting and storage, value adding, marketing and consumption. The view of agriculture as a system provides alternatives for the youth to choose from. Those still not ready to touch soil after acquiring a university degree can choose to engage from value addition and marketing stages of the chain.
- The formation and strengthening of youth groups as one way to overcome financial challenges. It is always easier for recognizable groups to access resources from financial institutions or available grants – compared to individual applications. Groups are a source of strength and encouragement in markets and marketing, especially in current times where middlemen have strengthened their hold on transport and marketing. Easier for youth to form groups when one views middlemen as any cohesive group with a common goal.
- For now, not everyone has access to land for agriculture. Youth can initiate public discussions where they ask those with extra land for lease. Youth to lobby policy makers for formulation of policies in support of use of vacant land without harassment from the land owners.
- Develop strategies to share successful case studies – nothing works like field visits to agricultural activities managed by fellow youth. The youth will have a chance to learn from other youth, that farming requires patience and lots of labour, knowledge and skills – not a one year activity for one to reap benefits.
- The need for analysis of available agricultural related policies at the international, national and local levels. The outcome will be a document for youth to refer to whenever in doubt. This will save time and create awareness on available policies for youth to take advantage of, or areas of lacking for them to lobby for formulation of supportive policies.
- Youth to take advantage of their superior access and knowledge on technology. Having acquired an education, youth can access available educational materials in agriculture and life in general. Reading widely means that one will be well-equipped to separate “shining passing objects” from well-tested techniques and inputs that will work. The current world is one of information overload, calling for critical thinking when making decisions and choices in relation to access, affordability, practicality and many other abilities that are area and individual specific.
- The youth already in practice to step forward as living examples. Visit schools and other learning institutions and share your experience as a youth farmer who is ready to continue practicing agriculture. I am still waiting to watch one of our youth at a TedTalk – local or international.
Many of our youth are already on the right pathway. Keep it up, use your unmatched access to social media to ask questions, share challenges and successes stories.
Always remember that there are thousands or millions of us out here ready to share our experience and skills with the younger generation – I want to be assured that when I retire from farming on my 80X40 parcel of land, there will be enough “good” food for me to access. There will always be a ready market for agricultural produce, aka, food.
Eileen Omosa