Agriculture holds key to solve youth unemployment in Africa: experts

KIGALI, Aug. 20 (Xinhua/GNA) – Encouraging and
supporting African young people to venture into agriculture and agri-business
can potentially create wealth and address youth unemployment on the continent,
agriculture experts have.

They were speaking said Monday at the opening
of the Africa youth event in the Rwandan capital Kigali dubbed “Youth
Employment in Agriculture as a solid solution to ending hunger and poverty in
Africa.” 

Rwanda hosts the conference on August 20-21 with much emphasis on
engaging African youth to take part in agriculture transformation on the
continent through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and
Entrepreneurship.  

“Investing in
agriculture and making it attractive to young people has a big potential to
solve joblessness among African youth,” said Jose Graziano da Silva, director
general of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  He noted that agriculture is a huge
wealth-creating sector that remains largely untapped by the African young
entrepreneurs.

According to him, youth in Africa have the
potential to revolutionize the food and agriculture sector and generate
economic growth, which can boost employment and the economic transformation on
the continent. 

The two-day conference has brought together participants from
across Africa and beyond including representatives from governments,
development partners, the private sector, youth and women organizations, civil
society organizations, research and academia.  

The high-level youth event also aims to foster exchange among
stakeholders on knowledge and best practices regarding the interfaces between
agriculture, youth employment, entrepreneurship and ICT innovations, according
to organizers.  

According to Josefa Sacko, African Union
Commissioner for rural economy and agriculture, Africa has the world’s youngest
and fastest growing population with less interest in agricultural initiatives
which has resulted into massive youth unemployment on the continent. 

“African leaders and policy need to
support all efforts geared towards engaging young people to venture into
agriculture in order address poverty and create meaningful jobs for
youth,” she added. 

According to the African Development Bank’s 2018
African Economic Outlook, in 2015, Africa was home to 226 million youth and the
number is projected to increase by 42 percent in 2030.  

Speaking at the event, Geraldine Mukeshimana,
Rwandan minister of agriculture and animal resources, said that sustainable
solutions for decent youth employment in agriculture in Africa must address
issues of making agriculture attractive to youth while maximizing financial
returns.  

“Young people are moving
away from agriculture because they consider it unattractive, unprofitable and labour-intensive. 

We need to make them love agriculture and turn these challenges into
opportunities,” she added.  

The
conference features a high-level interactive panel involving policy makers,
youth leaders, business and innovation leaders, as well as key partners.  

It will also discuss solutions that offer new
opportunities for youth entrepreneurship, including on-farm and beyond, along
the agricultural value chains. 

GNA

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