policy

This article provides an overview and analysis of youth employment in Sub-Saharan Africa. While many refer to the youth employment problem as the ‘youth unemployment problem’, unemployment is not high in low-income sub-Saharan Africa (3%) or in middle-income countries outside of Southern Africa. Since jobs remain elusive in the formal wage sector, youth have found innovative ways to express and exploit their talents and capabilities in the agriculture and household enterprises (informal sector). »

This article examines the willingness-to-pay of consumers on small island states for locally produced and organic food products. To attain food security, successful production in agriculture is key. The authors argue that to this end, strategies are needed that tackle agricultural development through the production and consumption of sustainable food products. »

This article provides a macroeconomics analysis of the youth employment problem in the low and lower middle income countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). While concerns about youth employment are often voiced, the discussions tends to lack context due to the absence of labor market data and analysis. This article tries to reduce this gap through analyzing macroeconomic changes and indicators in SSA. »

Recognizing the management prowess of women in agricultural family enterprises. Women’s rights, supporting women’s economic participation and female entrepreneurship are priorities on the Trade and Development agenda of the Dutch government. However, how can we effectively support this agenda in a complex sociocultural context in programmes with so many other priorities? »

This working paper shows that any dedicated use of land for growing bioenergy inherently comes at the cost of not using that land for growing food or animal feed, or for storing carbon. In the past decade, governments have pushed to increase the use of bioenergy. However, bioenergy that entails the dedicated use of land to grow the energy feed stock will undercut efforts to combat climate change and to achieve a sustainable food future. »

This article elaborates on the involvement of youth in livestock production as key to the actualization of the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) in Nigeria. It scrutinizes the socio-economic role of livestock, the state of Nigerians livestock industry, youth involvement in livestock production and the constraints young people face to get involved in livestock production. The authors provide solutions to ensure the active participation of youth in livestock production. »