The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, has stated that more investment is needed to create new opportunities for young people in agriculture in Africa.
He said getting more African youth involved in agriculture and boosting support for the region’s vulnerable family farmers would be pivotal to improving food security and economic well-being in the years to come.
Graziano da Silva told ministers of agriculture and funding partners at the on-going Regional Agriculture Conference and Funding Partners for Africa in Tunis.
He named water scarcity, low investment and conflict as among challenges to food security in the region but was however confident that Africa could “reach peace, stability and food security” in the future.
“The region’s economic growth rate is above the global average and most of the world’s fastest-growing economies are in Africa. The challenge is to translate this growth into social inclusion. Agriculture, rural development and youth can make this happen,” he said.
The links between youth, agribusiness and rural development are high on the agenda at the conference. Africa is the world’s youngest region, with more than half of the population being under 25 years of age.
He noted that “every year, 11 million people enter (Africa’s) labour market. But salaries are low in the rural sector, informality is high, agriculture is not considered as attractive by many of the region’s youth, and social protection is not always available for rural families in critical situations.”
The Director-General noted that the African Year of Agriculture and Food Security was being observed alongside the International Year of Family Farming, calling on African countries to “use this opportunity to put small farmers, fishers, pastoralists, forest collectors and traditional and indigenous communities at the center of our agenda.”
Source: GNA