Young people across the world could be the driving force behind the future of agriculture, says a new report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The report, “Youth for Growth: Transforming Economies Through Agriculture,” emphasizes the need for supporting youth entrepreneurship to ensure food security in low- and middle-income countries around the world. The report was introduced on March 22 at the Global Food Security Symposium in Washington, D.C.
There are more than 2.3 billion people between the ages of 15 and 34 across the world, and most of those young people live in rural places, where jobs are often lacking. The report and panelists at the event stressed that agriculture could be a vital tool in enhancing employment rates while also securing global food sources and cultivating the next generation of farmers. Trends around the world mirror trends in the United States, where farmers are aging and young people are exhibiting less interest in farming.
One of the main concerns of the report and the event’s panelists is that unemployed young people are at risk of being recruited into extremist movements. “Young people who lack compelling economic opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty are more likely to participate in extremism, crime, and social unrest, which can also be powerful drivers of both rural-urban and international migration,” the report states.
Donna Etiebet, head of corporate finance at Babban Gona in Nigeria, said that the youth unemployment rate in that country is 60 percent, and that unemployed youth are vulnerable and susceptible to being recruited into insurgent groups like Boko Haram. “When given a choice, they will make the right choice,” she said. “But first we need to give them a choice.” Agriculture training programs are one approach local governments and NGOs are taking to steer youth toward employment options.
Some panelists warned, though, about focusing too much on extremism as the reason to enhance employment opportunities in agriculture. The report recommends that the National Security Council include food and nutrition security among its strategic priorities. But Gayle E. Smith, a development expert who previously served on the NSC, was cautious. She said she worries about the impulse to reframe all development issues through the lens of terrorism and extremism. Other panelists shared her concern that a purely global approach to agricultural development would shift focus away from building local economies.
The report also recommends that Congress invest more in agricultural research and development and build formal programs with other countries to support youth development in agriculture. Parmesh Shah, from the World Bank, said that many youth in low- and medium-income countries are moving towards urban centers and the desk jobs that can be found there, but it’s essential to direct them towards agriculture too. He says development in today’s low- and middle-income countries may not look like the development that created today’s wealthiest countries. “I’m not saying manufacturing will not happen,” he said, but “it will not happen in the way it did before.”
The report suggests that investing in global youth engagement in entrepreneurship could “generate affinity for American values, institutions, and companies, translating into political influence and economic opportunity in the long term.” The event’s top sponsors included Syngenta, Dow, DuPont, and Land O’ Lakes.