Module 2 | Decent Rural Employment | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Raise awareness and generate evidence at country level

For a long time, employment generation has been considered an automatic effect of increased agricultural production or value chain development which does not require specific interventions. Even when employment creation is a priority of rural development strategies, the quality of rural jobs remains largely overlooked. This neglect has often led to suboptimal results in terms of poverty reduction and sustainable agrifood systems.

This module provides a snapshot of why employment considerations and accurate socioeconomic data on employment-related aspects are so central to rural development and sustainable agrifood systems, and what interventions can be carried out to boost each pillar of the Decent Work Agenda in rural areas. Finally, it brings together several tools developed by FAO and its partners to better prioritize decent employment considerations within agrifood and rural development strategies.

More and better jobs in rural areas and in agrifood value chains are essential to reduce poverty, given that the majority of the population in many developing countries resides in rural areas and depends on agriculture for their livelihoods. Decent rural jobs will enhance the performance and socioeconomic sustainability of the agrifood sector, while creating a ripple effect by supporting other sectors such as transportation, services and retail.
More productive and stable jobs in rural areas will contribute to food security by improving food supply as well as peoples' livelihoods and access to food.
Improved working conditions in rural areas will enhance the compliance of agricultural production with international right-based standards as well as with social certifications.

In order to adequately address the challenges that prevent decent rural employment from being promoted, it is crucial to provide policymakers with rigorous evidence and accurate socioeconomic data on employment-related aspects. However, in many developing countries such information is scarce, and the quality of existing data is low. For this reason, data collection and knowledge generation are crucial cross-cutting components of any policy interventions seeking to create decent rural employment opportunities at country level.

In this context, FAO works to:

Improve processes of data collection and access to reliable statistics and sound analysis on rural labour markets, employment trends and rural migration flows;
Increase understanding of rural labour markets and employment patterns, including informality and seasonal work;
Facilitate the dissemination of evidence on good policies, interventions and practices.

Pillar 1 – Employment creation and enterprise development

Improve labour productivity in rural areas by enhancing access of women and youth to productive resources, information, adapted technology and training.
Support women and men, including youth and small-scale producers, in accessing markets and modern value chains under fair and decent conditions.
Implement employment creation and diversification programmes in rural areas, particularly for youth and women.
Link incentive structures for investments in agriculture to the number and quality of jobs created.
Support micro, small and medium agri-enterprises (MSMEs).
Implement gender and age-sensitive technical vocational education and training programmes that teach employment-relevant technical and business skills and are associated with entrepreneurial support or job placement services.
Improve the management of rural labour migration, especially of young people.

Pillar 2 – Social protection

Foster productivity-enhancing social protection schemes (e.g. cash transfers) and development-oriented public employment programmes in rural areas.
Introduce employment subsidies and public employment services for the unemployed, including public works schemes.
Promote policies and strategies to extend social protection coverage to subsistence farmers and other small producers and informal economy workers in rural areas (e.g. social protection floors).
Foster the adoption of Occupational Safety and Health standards for the rural workforce, including by promoting safer technology and practices.
Promote better conditions of work and employment, in particular with respect to maternity protection and working hours.
Support the adoption of labour-saving technologies and care services to reduce women’s work burden and for poor households in areas affected by HIV and AIDS or other diseases.

Pillar 3 – Standards and rights at work

Support socially responsible agricultural production for small producers and MSMEs, seeking to reduce gender- and youth-based discrimination and to promote responsible business conduct.
Prevent and eliminate child labour by tackling its root causes and providing livelihood alternatives to poor households.
Protect adolescents who have reached the minimum working age but not yet the age of 18 years from abuse and hazardous work, while accompanying them in obtaining education, skills development and adapted employment opportunities.
Revise, adopt and enforce legislation on international standards and their applicability to rural areas.
Analyse prevailing labour contractual arrangements in the informal economy, where the worst forms of child labour and situations of discrimination take place.

Pillar 4 – Governance and social dialogue

Support organizations and networks of producers and workers in the informal rural food economy, including through self-help groups and networks, and foster their inclusiveness with regard to youth and women.
Promote collective agreements in the agriculture sector.
Support the regular representation of the rural poor, especially of women and youth, in social dialogue and policy dialogue through their organizations.
Empower the rural poor, particularly women and youth, to engage in local decision-making and governance mechanisms.

Resources

By promoting a better understanding of decent rural employment issues, the following materials can assist in building a strong case for action at country level. They also provide information on the linkages between decent rural employment and other key development issues, such as youth migration and food price volatility.