Even in developed nations, farming tends to occupy the lower end of the social hierarchy of professions. THE Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture is implementing a unique project aimed at attracting and keeping more Tanzanian youth into commercial agriculture. Agriculture Minister Chakrapani Khanal has said that the country’s agriculture sector has failed to attract youth in the sector. Dimakatso Sekhoto is the founder of GrowthShoot which promotes youth employment in agriculture, she is the managing director of Makolobane Farmers Enterprises, as well as a member of the African Farmers’ Association of South Africa.. Naude Malan is the convener of the Izindaba Zokudla, a multi-stakeholder engagement project aiming to drive sustainable urban farming in Johannesburg. We need to attract youth in agriculture by providing them lucrative alternatives, said Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR), while inaugurating two-day conference on Motivating and Attracting Youth in Agriculture (MAYA) here today. Although youth issues are cross-cutting mandates, the Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries (MALF) is spearheading the implementation of this strategy. With the average African farmer’s age hitting nearly 60 years, the sector’s stakeholders have been diligently working to come up with measures on how to attract and retain youth in the sector. However, they are guided by a similar objective: youth development through agricultural education, including supervised agricultural experiences, developing skills in agricultural production, and acquiring general life skills (Adebo, 2009; National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, 2013). With an ageing population of farmers, it’s clear that agriculture needs to attract more young people. Levina Christopher (L) and other members of Umoja ni Nguvu group work on their green pepper field at Msalato in … We can do so by sharing the benefits of agriculture as a business to showcase it’s not “your grandparents’ agriculture.” Agriculture is currently perceived by many young Africans as unattractive – an obvious result of decades of lack of support. How can we then attract the youth to stay or work in the rural areas? Our research … Recently, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has recommended a proposal on “attracting and retaining rural youth in agriculture (ARYA)” to the Planning Commission of India which has agreed to include it in the 12th five-year-plan in order to tap the youth potential in farming and also prevent their migration to urban areas. Is farming a lucrative business worth investing in for young people? Those with good education facilities do not want to take up agriculture for technical or higher studies. The event was attended by students of nearby schools … So, education … When youth are educated, it often is not in practical agriculture, and therefore they opt for other jobs, with more status and income. “The exodus of rural youth means fewer smallholder farmers tomorrow, which will potentially change the profile of farming thereby leaving us in a really bad situation,” Schandorf adds. Attitude change: Attitude is a key driver in life. Clubs provide students with opportunities to explore career interests, … An example is the agriculture sector. The fair was sponsored by Institutional Development Plan - a collaborative project of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) & the World Bank. News Desk - Jun 3, 2020. From: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. KATHUA: A day long awareness campaign on Centrally Sponsored Schemes for agriculture was organized by Directorate of Field Publicity, Ministry Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, here today at Government Degree collage for Boys Kathua. The sector supports more than 40% of the total employed population in the region. Under the ARYA scheme, the state government will attract rural youth in agriculture by making them skilled and make the state self-dependent in agriculture. On the business point, youth prefer to engage in some business ventures and leave the others untouched. Youth in Agriculture and Allied sectors - State Planning Commission, Tamil Nadu RECOMMENDATIONS CONCLUSIONS LIST OF PARTICIPANTS . Different kinds of policies and programmes are needed to be made by the government for their secure future and stay in agriculture and rural industry by their choice. 1. The youth always have an attitude towards certain aspects of life. Victor Mugo, Country Coordinator for the Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network , started by dispelling the notion that youth keep away from the farm because it is a ‘dirty job’. strategy to promote the youth involvement in agricultural economic activities. There have been a myriad of suggestions, but none of them seemed as attractive as engaging youth through climate-smart and digital agriculture. Agriculture must be re-defined to attract the youth – IBRAF. Agriculture does not attract the youth anymore. Youth involvement is strongly realized for agricultural reform so that it can keep pace with changing global economy. Engaging rural youths in agriculture has been prominent agenda of the Government recently as there is growing … This question is not only asked in South Africa. SUMMARY “Unless farming becomes both intellectually stimulating and economically rewarding, it will be difficult to attract or retain rural youth in farming ”- Dr. M.S. Agriculture led to increased populations, the development of cities, and because of increased population density, the wider spread of infectious diseases. So, how do we make the sector more interesting to the youth? First, agriculture needs to appeal to youth. With the aim to attract youth in Agriculture and Veterinary Science, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana conducted an Agri-Education fair at its campus. I can safely say that the rest of Africa is also plagued by the lack of youth participation in agriculture. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau was at the Centre des Moissons today to announce a new investment of up to $3.75 million that will help bring youth into the agriculture industry. The Youth Employment and Skills Program will provide funding to employers across the agriculture sector to hire … Yes, of course, we say! Despite the potential of agriculture to create employment, the steadily increasing youth population in Africa has been turning away from it due to … 1 As pointed out by Bosworth and Collins , an important sustaining factor for future economic growth in China and India is their large share of the … Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa is the main source of income and subsistence for over 70% of the adult population. Under the scheme, Agriculture Technology Management and Training (ATMA) will provide the training to the rural youth. Agriculture Club, or Youth in Agriculture Club. No. Sounds really pessimistic, simplistic and lazy, but you can crucify me once you read in full. The proposal regarding the pilot project had been recommended to the ICAR … He went on to clarify that young people shy away from farming because it is not profitable: “With the train of risks that are often exasperated by climate change, young people see the sector offering little opportunity for … In addition to the economic constraints facing youth in agriculture (lack of credit, land, market, low profitability and capacity constraint) should be examined. It is about rejuvenating smallholder agriculture as a whole, and accepting the youth as today’s partners and tomorrow’s development architects. Any industry that hopes to last knows how crucial it is to attract young people. Agriculture must become profitable in order to attract youth. The types of food consumed, and the way in which they are prepared, have varied widely by time, location, and culture. Agriculture is no exception. He urged to create a “Mission for Youth in Agriculture” and “Regional Platform for Youth in Agriculture” with neighbouring countries as … Kathmandu, August 12. This is where education, the last condition comes in. A change is necessary from subsistence farming to a more commercial mind-set towards farming in order to keep it attractive for youth. Survival without water is usually limited to … So, how can African governments attract youth to agriculture to tackle the unemployment challenge? Investing to Attract Youth in Agriculture. Develop agro-based entrepreneurship to attract youth towards agriculture’ admin Agriculture, Youth Development 0. Among other responsibilities, under this strategy MALF is tasked to create enabling environment for attracting the youth’s engagement in agriculture which has the … The seminar was organized to attract and retain youth in agriculture, in spite of various challenges due to socio-economic factors, including profitability in agricultural pursuits. “The exodus of rural youth means fewer small-scale farmers tomorrow, potentially drastically changing the profile of farming,” according … In general, humans can survive for two to eight weeks without food, depending on stored body fat. Many youth regard it for the poor, uneducated, failures in life and … Providing training and farm inputs is not enough to attract these young people to a career in agriculture. Why does agriculture not attract youth? Swaminathan. So what exactly do we have to do to attract these youth to the agricultural sector? Through a youths centred approach, this one week long course will train participants in sustainable agricultural practices and life skills and show how farming can be an attractive business for the youth. Agriculture provides the main source of income in the state. Since the agricultural sector is mainly located in the rural area of a country, whereas the manufacturing and services sectors are concentrated in cities, rural–urban migration is regarded as the main momentum of economic development in the literature. India is young country: Global population is expected to increase to 9 billion by … The course is designed to make young people enjoy their stay at the … By. So with an ageing population of farmers in farming communities scattered across the country, it’s evident that agriculture needs to attract more young people. FAO, govt out to attract more youth into agriculture sector. Attract Youth in Agriculture Camp. This is a global challenge: half the farmers in the United States are 55 years or older, while in sub-Saharan Africa, the average age of farmers is around 60 years old. According to available information, the average SA farmer is about 60 … He is … The campaign was … In order to improve youth involvement in agricultural production and processing in Kenya, attention should be given to the factors leading to rural youth migration to urban areas.