Why is it important to encourage young people to take part in agriculture? What unique qualities do young people possess that make them important contributors to the sector?

Globally, the agriculture sector is aging, with the average farmer around 60 years old. At the same time, young people are struggling to find work, often moving to urban centers for employment opportunities. Can information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide an avenue to increase youth’s participation in agriculture, making it a more profitable and sound career path? In the run up to World Telecommunications and Information Society Day on May 17, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), in partnership with the Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network (CSAYN), will host a month-long online discussion on the Climate & Agriculture Network for Africa (CANA) platform about youth in agriculture and how they are using ICTs to innovate, address climate change and engage in agribusiness.

Beginning on April 15, join us every Monday to respond to and discuss our question of the week with others invested in youth in agriculture. This discussion will culminate in a webinar on Wednesday, May 15 where topics related to youth and ICTs in the context of agriculture will be covered by experts and young people alike.


Photo credit: G. Smith (CIAT)

Week 1 (15 April – 19 April):
Why is it important to encourage young people to take part in agriculture? What unique qualities do young people possess that make them important contributors to the sector?

There are several reasons why we need to encourage young people to engage in agriculture, key among them being the need to bridge the age gap between the current and future farmers especially within the context of a changing climate and the need for food and nutrition security for growing populations. Young people are creative, innovative and energetic and can play different roles in the agricultural value chain. With increased rates of unemployment globally, perhaps agriculture can provide one of the solutions.

Most people born since the mid-1990s have probably never known a world without smartphones – one of the key technologies that are opening up opportunities for giving farmers access to agricultural knowledge and advice, weather forecasts, digital banking, market information and the like. And these young people are the ones who are tech savvy and can develop these solutions.

History blurred our mindset on what agriculture is all about, reason of the poor narrative that marked this economic sector. Time proved us wrong and now the narrative is rapidly taking a different stale, one of productivity and profitability, one offering business opportunities and sustainability, job openings and . "Agriculture" can be fractioned in so many segments and youth can engage in any of these segments, focus and make it a business opportunity. ICT and open technologies nowadays is a huge game changer in development sectors. By leveraging on its potentials, youth can advance agricultural development, community change and influence economic development. E-agribusinesses offers ICT solutions that address challenges faced by grassroot farmers such access to finance and markets, agricultural inputs, farm surveillance, post harvest losses, etc. With the venue of emerging technologies like drones, blockchains, 3D printings, e-saving and e-banking, farmers are more and more feeling secured on the tracability of their transactions, on the monitoring and datafication of their farm lands. All these are areas where youth can play a major role and be more innovative and creative with this digital revolution.

I think that to build a good bridge for youth in this sector capacity builging is mmore required to youth and all categories. The youth with school background and those who not have a good school background.