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Highlights

Young farmers in Tunisia ©IFAD/Susan Beccio

By Anja Lund Lesa, David Suttie and Omar Hammoud

As part of the NEN Close Up series, the Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia Division hosted a knowledge sharing event on rural youth and economic empowerment in the Near East and North Africa. Through a regional grant, IFAD is partnering with Making Cents International, a social enterprise based in Washington DC, and Silatech, a social initiative working to create opportunities for young people throughout the Arab world, to help increase the employment and self-employment opportunities of more than 18,000 young people of ages 15-35. Covering four countries, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Yemen, the 3-year joint programme, Rural Youth Economic Empowerment Programme, is seeking to test innovative financial and non-financial engagement tools for young rural people. The event provided an opportunity to learn from the programme and to discuss how the findings can inform IFAD's future engagement with young people in rural areas.

Six Pieces of the Innovation Puzzle: Part 4 – Engaging Youth – Creating Opportunities On and Off the FarmMany rural youths are seeking higher-paying jobs in urban centers. Their exodus strains the farms that provide 80 percent of the regions’ available food. To ensure this demand is met, we must offer profitable agricultural opportunities for young people both on and off the farm. The current youth population (around 1.6 billion) nearly matches that of the entire earth in 1900. Tapping into the potential of this workforce, these young people can contribute to profitable economies and stimulate innovation.

The survival of farms always depends on the next generation. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, one-third of employed youth (350 million) will work in agriculture by 2035. Thomas Jayne makes the case that supporting this upcoming generation of farmers will determine the financial growth of these regions. According to Jayne, increased farm production and income can lead to and support a technology-driven economy. Whether agro-dealers, farmers or food processors, creating and maintaining these jobs will be key to national economic development.

The App builds on the growing demand for smartphones in Kenya, with penetration expected to reach 31% by 2017 (source: GSMA) and the educational needs of smallholder farmers for knowledge and time sensitive information. There are currently 5 million smallholder farmers in disenfranchised rural communities relying on 5,500 extension workers across Kenya for this information and knowledge in a process that is today slow, inefficient and expensive. The Haller Farmers App addresses this directly at the touch of a button.

The App incorporates an e-commerce function that will empower farmers to buy and sell the goods they produce and develop a nano-economy. It will also enrich the local community beyond just farmer training, acting as a platform to give the community a voice and connect people with functionalities such as instant messaging and local trader advertising.

Join us in the International Year of Soils

So what is it about soils? As a South Indian farmer said: “Soil is the mother of agriculture, the mother of life”. Or, as FAO says: “Soil is a finite natural resource, the foundation for food, animal feed, fuel and natural fibre production, the supply of clean water, nutrient cycling and a range of ecosystem functions.”

#YouthNow: Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the World Programme of Action For YouthThe #YouthNow Campaign marks the 20th Anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth leading up to a Special Session of the General Assembly on May 29, 2015 commemorating this landmark agreement. The special session will be convened by the President of the General Assembly in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth and United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs.

Click here to read the full news on United Nations' website.

Hiring a Professional Farm Manager Makes a lot of CentsA proficient workforce is grist for a successful farmer’s mill. Competency of farm managers and other staff determine the success of any medium to large-scale farmer.

Vineyard Farms Limited, a medium-scale producer of capsicum, courgette, tomatoes and hybrid watermelons, was on the brink of shutdown two years ago. Poor management and incompetent staff were turning the company’s farm into a nightmare for its owners.

Flickr: Nevil ZaveriThat uncomfortable feeling when you’re so hungry you lose all control of your emotions. So convinced the world is conspiring against you, you lash out at whoever dares to cross your path. And so depleted of energy, you can no longer perform basic functions like rational decision making. Yeah, we’ve all been there.

I’ll be the first to say that the hangries are a real thing. On the same note, I recognize that this brief feeling of discomfort is nothing compared to what people who continually lack access to nutritious foods experience. Still, it’s not a bad jumping off point to try and understand what life is like for people living in extreme poverty. Just think, how much less would you be able to accomplish if you were in a perpetual state of hunger?