Enhancing youth engagement in agricultural careers
This blog by Cabi, explores what can and is being done already to improve employment opportunities for youth in rural areas, particularly in the agricultural sector. The blog highlights that there needs to be greater investment in education and training from primary through to tertiary levels, and teaching needs to take account of advancements in technology, foster innovation and be of relevance to the evolving agricultural sector. Alongside improving education, more needs to be done to change young peoples’ perception of agriculture as a potential career. Furthermore, it is important to create opportunities for young farmers to influence farming policies at both the local and national level to help identify and address barriers to engagement. According to the author, it is important to support innovation and entrepreneurship. A key step is to recognising farms as agribusinesses, considering not only the farm but also the industry and services. Finally, the prominence of social media in today’s society could be capitalised upon as both a tool for education and a route to improve the image of agriculture as a career.