Learning Route - Strengthening the resilience of the G5 Sahel region through the creation of decent jobs for rural youth
17 March 2022 marked the end of the FAO-PROCASUR G5 Regional Learning Route ‘’Strengthening the resilience of the G5 Sahel region through the creation of jobs for rural youth’’.
This activity fall under the umbrella of the project Building Resilience in the Sahel Region through Job Creation for Youth, funded by the Federal Government of Germany, Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). The learning route is a travel itinerary that allows participants to exchange knowledge with local actors, which become also trainers. The ultimate goal was to work together with rural youth to find innovative solutions and employment schemes for greener and decent rural employment opportunities.
Following the completion of the Mauritania leg of the regional learning route in November 2021, and three additional activities in December 2021, the second leg of the Route was carried out in Burkina Faso, in March 2022. The four-month process included more than 80 participants in all activities from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger: 50 of them were young rural women and men from different regions and constituencies in each country, while the remaining 30 were representatives from government ministries.
The first leg of the regional learning route used a hybrid modus operandi: participants attended the activities both on site, in Mauritania, and online, from the other G5 Sahel countries. Cases featured, amongst others, were the PELIMIR and SAFIRE initiatives, two local successful experiences that promote job creation for youth by encouraging employment opportunities in their respective communities.
In December 2021, three additional capacity development and knowledge exchange windows took place virtually, bringing together participants from all the G5 Sahel countries. Three major themes were discussed and analyzed, namely: (i) how to strengthen rural youth networks, assessing the experience of the Réseau National des Jeunes Ruraux pour le Financement Inclusif de l’Entreprenariat Rural in Mali; (ii)how to facilitate access to land for rural youth, analyzing the case study of Mobile Application to Secure Tenure (MAST); and (iii) how to use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to re-brand agriculture for rural youth, with the collaboration of Agribusiness TV.
Finally, the Burkina Faso leg of the regional learning route, using a hybrid modality for participation, analyzed and learned from the case of La Maison de l'Entreprise, which has developed, working with various partners, a permanent mechanism for providing outreach services called Rural Entrepreneurship Resource Centers: (CREER). Within the framework of the CREER, several services are made available to young entrepreneurs, among which a proximity business coaching. The discussion focused also on other youth entrepreneurship experiences, such as PEA-Jeunes in Cameron.
Furthermore, as part of the regional learning route, since its inception in November 2021, youth have been encouraged and mentored to develop their innovation plans, with the objective of turning their agri-businesses ideas into reality.