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Highlights
The 2007 World Development Report addressed Development and the Next Generation, the 2008 report addressed Agriculture for Development and the 2013 report addresses Jobs, but it is the intersection of these three areas that is now very much in the African policy spotlight.
Given that the majority of Africans live in rural areas, the continuing importance of the agricultural sector to most African economies, and the very slow emergence of employment opportunities in the formal sector, it is not surprising that policy advocates and development practitioners look to agriculture as the source of opportunity for young people.
ZOLLIKOFEN, Switzerland — When Christian Oesch was a boy on his family’s hog farm, cellphones were a thing of the future. Now, Mr. Oesch tends a herd of dairy cattle and carries a smartphone wherever he goes. Occasionally he gets an SMS from one of his cows.
By RUTH MANTELL
Even as employers remain cautious next year about every dollar spent on employees, they'll also want workers to show greater skills and results.
The World Bank has launched a one-of-its-kind initiative in Nairobi that will assist local companies deploy locally developed climate friendly solutions creating over 4,600 direct and over 24,000 indirect jobs over the next decade, while also leveraging some $10 million in private sector investment. The move comes as reports emerge that over 85 per cent of Kenyan farmers are now being effected in their planting and harvesting by changing weather patterns.
The latest science estimates the average production losses by 2050 for African maize at 22 per cent, sorghum 17 per cent, millet 17 per cent, groundnut 18 per cent and cassava 8 per cent as a result of rise in temperatures.
In marking its 70th anniversary, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) will be highlighting some of the success stories of its Youth In Agriculture Awards which was established in 1999. Starting today, the AgroGleaner will showcase some of these stories of awards which recognise persons between the ages of 17 and 34 who have been making outstanding contributions to local agriculture.
A young Tunisian is hospitalised after clashes with local authorities, a young Syrian cannot leave their country because of civil war, a young Palestinian isnt granted a visa. Another story about the Arab Spring? No, these young people were all planning to attend the first workshop of the Arab Youth Climate Movement (AYCM) which took place in Eqypt this year in preparation for the UN Climate talks (COP18) currently taking place in Qatar.
The youth presence at the UN climate talks is vitally important, but its not so much about what they say, or what country or organisation they represent. Just by being there in the room, they serve as a reminder to negotiators that the price of not coming to an agreement will be paid by their children, and by all young people across the world. It reminds the negotiators that the talks are about intergenerational equity as much as about economics and energy security.
African farmers live with a high level of uncertainty. Kilimo Salama—which means “safe farming” in Kiswahili—offers smallholder farmers access to micro-insurance against either drought or excessive rains. The service is unique in that farmers purchase it through local agro-dealers along with their inputs.
After purchase, the agro-dealers transmit the registration to the insurance provider by using their phone to scan the QR code and enter relevant farmer information. Using solar-powered weather stations installed in participating areas, Kilimo Salama collects information on weather conditions to determine the presence of anyextreme weather that is likely to reduce yields. To learn more about this initiative, watch the presentation below or view the slideshow on the Projeqt website.
Last year, during the World Bank’s Open Forum that addressed the world's food crisis, we brainstormed for ideas on how to put food first for the almost one billion people who go to bed hungry today. A lot of the solutions were offered but one of the ideas from the World Bank's Facebook page made an impression on me. Julius Ayi wrote: "I believe governments must also encourage youth to work in agriculture"
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