August 12, 2021

Making agriculture attractive for enhanced youth inclusion

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Ivory Coast

For a long time characterized as the work of the less privileged in society, agriculture in Africa is still dominated by the presence of increasingly elderly people. Reflections on the average age in the agricultural sector raise many questions. Referring to farmers as those that spend more than 50% of their week in farming, the average age goes up to 50 for household heads, and 41 if we consider all individuals (IFAD, Rural Development Report 2019). As a general observation, the low presence of young people in agriculture remains an issue at the center of the debate. However, in old age, despite the will, the body can quickly feel the fatigue and decrease the physical capacity of the farmer. With the introduction of innovations, mechanization and all the digital technologies aimed at reducing physical effort, saving time and increasing yields, agriculture has reached the entrepreneurial dimension. But how can we orient young people towards this sector that provides so many jobs? In this article, Patricia Zoundi Yao, promoter of CanaanLand addresses the youth.

No one has an interest in not directing youth towards agriculture. But to make them join, you need things that make them dream. A young person who has always seen his parents come back from the fields tired with torn clothes can only see the difficulties in it.

Changing mindsets

In rural areas, young people are more motivated to go to work in the big cities, risk their lives in gold mining sites or seek to illegally immigrate to developed countries. The observation is certainly bitter, but the root causes of this situation are mainly due to the perception that young people have of the work of the land - agriculture. According to Patricia, it is high time to change this perception.

We need to change the perception that people have of agriculture. We need to integrate small, innovative technologies that reduce the physical workload, not necessarily technologies that are costly, and showcase successful models.

Agriculture must be a dream today

Nowadays, the trend is slowly but surely reversing. More and more young people, including graduates from the top schools, are interested in agriculture. This was not the case before. As an anecdote, Patricia added:

When we were kids, we were told that if you didn't succeed in school, you should go into agriculture. So farming was seen as the place for those who failed.

However, to attract young people to the sector, Patricia proposes to make agriculture more sexy by showing successful stories and facilitating access to technologies and financing for youth. According to her, the integration of young people in agriculture is a sine qua non condition to ensure the succession. To conclude, Patricia said with a bright smile:

You don't have to go to the field with torn clothes. You can be well dressed, wear your boots and go to work in the field.

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