Climate adaptation and job prospects for young people in agriculture


Book Description

According to the United Nations, the world’s population will grow by 2 billion people over the coming decades to reach 9.7 billion by 2050 (UNDESA-DP 2019a). The dignity and life prospects of those additional 2 billion people will depend on their ability to meet basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter, and their access to adequate employment. The most pressing need for jobs will be felt in those regions and countries that have not yet gone through the demographic transition, and where the cohort of young people is growing rapidly. The challenge will be compounded by an increasingly crowded, more competitive world with fewer natural resources per capita, and by the threat of climate change, which is projected to affect every sector of the economy (Arent 2014).




Annual report 2020: CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)


Book Description

In 2020, PIM findings contributed to seed policies in Nepal and Uganda, Malawi’s extension strategy and approval of insect-resistant cotton, a nationwide program aimed at improving the effectiveness of public service delivery in Uganda, social protection programs in Egypt, and school gardens for better nutrition in Papua New Guinea. At the global level, PIM research was used to shape strategic decisions of organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, GIZ, the Inter-American Development Bank, the UK Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the World Bank and the World Health Organization. PIM tools were incorporated in universities’ curricula in India and South Africa. Examples of PIM innovations scaled up by partners in 2020 are private sector seed marketing in Ethiopia, picture-based insurance in Ethiopia, India and Kenya, and tools for inclusive governance of natural resources in India and Peru.




Youth and the Rural Economy in Africa


Book Description

This book brings together recent findings from quantitative and qualitative research from across Africa to illuminate how young men and women engage with the rural economy, imagine their futures and how development policies and interventions find traction (or not) with these realities. Through framing, overview and evidence-based chapters, it provides a critical perspective on current discourse, research and development interventions around youth and rural development. It is organised around commonly-made foundational claims: that large numbers of young people are leaving rural areas; have no interest in agriculture; cannot access land; are stuck in permanent waithood; that the rural economy provides (or can provide) a wealth of opportunity; and that they can be the engine of rural transformation. It draws from existing literature and new analysis arising from several multi-country and multi-disciplinary studies, focusing on gender and other aspects of social difference. It is a major contribution to current debates and development policy about youth, agriculture and employment in rural Africa.




Opportunities in Agriculture: Stemming youth migration


Book Description

Africa’s growing youth workforce presents enormous potential for agricultural transformation, but to capitalise on this promising resource the sector must become a more attractive employment option for the continent’s young people. SPORE is the quarterly magazine of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), offering a global perspective on agribusiness and sustainable agriculture. CTA operates under the Cotonou Agreement between the countries of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group and the European Union and is financed by the EU.




Climate Change Adaptation Framework and Youth Entrepreneurship in West Africa


Book Description

This book's purpose is to highlight the development challenges and successes of implementing the Youth Climate Change Adaptation Development Framework in Sierra Leone, West Africa. Over the past decade, Sierra Leone has experienced a series of development challenges, including internal conflict and Ebola outbreaks in most recent times. The dire unemployment situation in Sierra Leone is compounded by the emergence of climate change that negatively impacts all aspects of daily life and wellbeing, and the education and training provided do not prepare young people adequately for the job market. Therefore, building youth resilience to adapt to the impact of climate change and other development problems is a significant development challenge faced by policymakers in Sierra Leone. The government, through funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), has provided support for the implementation of a Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Project (YEEP) to reinforce the employability of Sierra Leone Youth as well as enhance their entrepreneurship and employment skills through the development of a framework that integrates education and vocational institutions with job market demand and supply. This approach has resulted in strengthening the occupational levels in the youth population segments of the country. This book discusses the objectives and outcomes of this project, including curricula for Sustainable Construction, training of counselors and administrators, providing youths with supervisory skills, and developing tools to assess youth development institutions' weaknesses and enhance institutional capacity to deliver climate change adaption for sustainable development programmes. The book can be used by policymakers from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and LDCs in Africa and Asia. It can be used by researchers working on Climate Change, Education, Sustainable Development, emphasising Climate Change Education for Sustainable Development in both developing and developed countries. It can also be used by practitioners involved in implementing innovations in youth development, employment, entrepreneurship, sustainable livelihoods initiatives, climate change adaptation, and mitigation. These practitioners and researchers would find this book an invaluable resource to support their work in the field.




Agriculture Sector and ICT


Book Description




Being "agricool": Supporting ASEAN youth and tertiary student futures for sustainable agrifood system learning and livelihoods to meet the Sustainable Development Goals


Book Description

This policy brief is one in a series led by Chulalongkorn University with support from the Office of the Higher Education Commission, Ministry of Education, Thailand, in partnership with FAO. The series was initiated to support the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Work Plan on Education, 2016–2020 implementation while Thailand was Chair of ASEAN in 2019 under the theme: “Advancing Partnership for Sustainability.” The Briefs offer critical interdisciplinary perspectives on agri-food systems from social and sustainability sciences. They are fully aligned with the regional initiative on Food System Transformation and are meant to support the work engaged with ASEAN. This brief focuses on the need for HEIs, international agencies, regional organizations and governments in Southeast Asia to do more to assist youth and tertiary students by providing adequate programmes, curricula, research and extension services. It highlights that it is critical to consider youth as an active partner and to fully include them in better documenting and evaluating youth and student issues while scaling-up best practices. It advocates for improved university services in rural communities to catalyze a paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agro-ecological systems.




Agriculture & Food Systems To 2050: Global Trends, Challenges And Opportunities


Book Description

This book features a comprehensive foresight assessment, exploring the pressures — threats as well as opportunities — on the global agriculture & food systems between now and 2050. The overarching aim is to help readers understand the context, by analyzing global trends and anticipating change for better planning and constructing pathways from the present to the future by focusing on the right questions and problems. The book contextualizes the role of international agricultural research in addressing the complex challenges posed by UN 2030 Agenda and beyond, and identifies the decisions that scientific leaders, donors and policy makers need to take today, and in the years ahead, to ensure that a global population rising to nine billion or more combined with rising incomes and changing diets can be fed sustainably and equitably, in the face of the growing climate threats.




Impacts of Climate Change on Young People in Small Island Communities


Book Description

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the history, definition, causes, effects, impacts and implications of climate change on young people globally, with a focus on Small Island Communities (SIDS) in particular. The text highlights the key problems associated with the impact of climate change on young people in SIDS, specifically its effects on socio-economic development and livelihoods, and explores the need for the development of a new conceptual framework to deal with building the resilience of the adaptive capacity of youth in SIDS. The book analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of the emerging phenomenon of Global Youth Climate Change Movements/Actions, and examines the management/governance challenges associated with the Movement in terms of its operational mechanism, mobilization strategies and its use of social media/technology to mobilize mass action. The text concludes with a recommendation for further research in this area as a way to understand how the Movement functions and its mechanism for implementation of future research.




Youth and Agriculture


Book Description

Young people account for a large percentage of the rural population, and are often unemployed or underemployed, despite the need for labour force in agriculture. Rural youth face many hurdles in trying to earn a livelihood. They do not perceive agriculture as a remunerative or prestigious profession, and until they find meaningful economic opportunities and attractive environments in rural areas, they will continue to migrate to cities. This trend not only contributes to the emerging phenomenon of over-urbanization and growing unemployment in urban areas, but is also expected to affect global food production. Investing in young people living in rural areas is therefore key to enhancing agricultural productivity, boosting rural economies and ensuring food security. This publication provides real life examples on how to re-engage youth in agriculture. It shows how tailor-made educational programmes can provide rural youth with the skills and insights needed to engage in farming and adopt environmentally friendly production methods. Many of the initiatives and approaches reported in this study originate from the youth themselves. The following study was a joint undertaking of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA).