youth employment

Combatting youth unemployment in developing countries has become a priority issue of policy agendas. In the context of increased global food insecurity, emphasis has been put on engaging youth in agricultural development. »

Is agriculture the sector of opportunity for youth in sub-Saharan Africa? That was the question that was asked as part of a debate for the Mastercard Young Africa Works Summit in November 2015. Dr. Nteranya Sanginga – Director General International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Jim Sumberg from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), highlighted the pro’s and cons of this debate. Jim Sumberg presented four reasons to be cautious. »

In developing countries, over 60% of the population is below the age of 25, and those youth populations show no sign of stopping. In these countries, the youth play an important role in meeting the future challenges on access, availability and use of food in the context of trends of population growth, urbanization, globalization and climate change. »

The paper provides an overview of the youth employment challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. It gives context on the overall economic and employment climate in the region, and takes stock of what is known — and not known — about youth employment specifically. It summarizes existing interventions to expand employment and livelihood opportunities for African youth, and identifies research that could address policy-relevant knowledge gaps. »

A new generation of coffee professionals is urgently needed. Over the last decade, organisations in various parts of the world have launched projects to increase the number of youth involved in the coffee sector. These projects provide clear insights that can be applied in many other sectors and can potentially transform the coffee production sector. This publication by Hivos summarizes 5 case studies worldwide on good practices how to involve youth in the coffee sector, and comes up with successful strategies that attracted young people back to the coffee sector. »

In January this year, the first batch from Young Expert Programme (YEP) Agrofood – sixteen Young Experts in total –  followed a three week intensive training course, together with the Young Experts from YEP Water. They received masterclasses on a wide range of topics preparing them thoroughly to work in an international context. Classes such »