Threats, challenges and opportunities: youth and agriculture

As the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) has set out in its 5-million jobs document, youth excluded from the labour force for long periods are deprived of on-the-job learning opportunities – and no-one learns as fast as youth.

The International Labour Organisation estimates that between 80 to 100 million youth worldwide are unemployed. Prolonged inactivity and a potential growing distrust of political and economic systems do not augur well for a country.

But there is another cloud on the horizon.

We've known for some time that we have an ageing population on our farms. The average age of farmers (and farm workers) is older than it has ever been. Today on 702 Talk Radio we heard that average age of the commercial farmer globally is 54. In South Africa, it is 62!

Imagine the issues that arise from the prospect of there not being sufficient candidates in the next generation to take over producing our food! Omri van Zyl of Deloitte Agribusiness set some of these out:

• Food shortages
• Poverty index rising in a decade or two
• Agriculture’s contribution to the country’s GDO in jeopardy
• Food price inflation
• Having to import what we currently produce ourselves

But let’s go back to the first cloud and look at three statements:

• High levels of unemployment and lack of skills amongst any country’s youth present a threat to that society.  
• High levels of unemployment and lack of skills amongst any country’s youth present a challenge to that society. 
• High levels of unemployment and lack of skills amongst any country’s youth present an opportunity not to be squandered.

Could the high rate of unemployment amongst the youth be an opportunity for agriculture?

What if African governments placed a higher premium on agriculture? As we have said in the youth chapter of The AgriHandbook, Africa relies heavily on agriculture for its GDP (the average is 35%). It makes sense that African heads of state would sign the Maputo Declaration committing to invest 10% of their annual budgets to agricultural development and research. Very few have reached this target. If they don't take agriculture seriously, what chance the youth? 

The private sector would be sure to follow the lead provided by African governments investing in agriculture. Enabling policies, well-functioning markets and support to commercial and small-scale farmers would encourage success – and job creation. And the more the young see a thriving agricultural sector, the more they will be attracted to it.