Presentation of ARDYIS activities by Ken Lohento, ICT Programme Coordinator, CTA Johannesburg, 20 May 2012

CTA : Who we are 50 staff from 27 countries CTA is a joint institution of the ACP and the EU (Cotonou Agreement). 26 years of commitment to advancing agriculture and rural communities in ACP ACP agricultural development ICTs media rural communities value chain youth networking opportunities communication knowledge sharing par 26 years of commitment to advancing agriculture and rural communities in ACP Key role for partners

CTA’s Mission To  advance food and nutritional security  increase prosperity  encourage sound natural resource management via  providing access to information and knowledge,  facilitating policy dialogue and  strengthening the capacity of agricultural and rural development institutions and communities in ACP countries

Strategic Goals To support well informed, inclusive agricultural policy processes and strategies that empower smallholder producers, women and youth To promote the development of priority value chains, especially for smallholder producers To strengthen the information, communication and knowledge management capacities of institutions and networks : ICT

The CTA ICT Programme

Strategy goal 3 (IC-T, KM) themes & activities  Increased focus on electronic content generation  Promoting and supporting use of innovative ICT tools and approaches  Building skills of ACP partners  Promoting information, communication and knowledge management policies & strategies ACP agricultural development ICTs media rural communities value chain youth networking opportunities communication knowledge sharing par CTA all goals cross-cutting theme : Youth and Gender

ICTs : huge opportunities for agricultural value chains Market information service (MIS) provides price information and a virtual marketplace for buyers and sellers of agricultural commodities (Esoko, RESIMAO) Every 10 percentage-point increase in high-speed Internet connections there is an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points (World Bank). Growth is linked to ICTs in developing countries (except in countries with restricted telecoms) UNCTAD 2011  crowd-sourcing for pest control (e.g. PestNet, Pacific)  mobile financial services (M-PESA, Kenya)

Capacity building across ACP

Focussing on youth and ARDYIS Project

Who are youth? For the United Nations, youth are understood as people aged between 15 and 24 In recognition of the age range where life transitions take place, the African Union has adopted a broader definition of youth that encompasses individuals aged between 15 and 35. (in the African Youth Charter) Taking into account young farmers issues and economic challenged by ACP youth, CTA has so far considered as Youth people aged between 15 and 35 years, like in the African Youth Charter

Some data on youth 72% of the youth population (UN definition) live with less than $2 a day (ILO 2006) More than 20% of youth in Africa have between 15 to 24 In 2005, 62% of Africa’s overall population fell below the age of 25 (World Bank 2008) – if we consider the youth age limit up to 35, this statistic is higer The 2009 ILO report on « Global Employment Trends » notes that the vulnerable employment rate in Sub-Saharan Africa was 74.7% in 2007

Agriculture (30% to 50% of ACP GDP for many economies), needs youth  Surveys among CaFAN farmers’ organizations across the region indicate that the average age of farmers are increasing and in most cases above 45 years old, the majority being over 60 years” (Jethro Greene, CAFAN) Youth needs agriculture  Agriculture is in many ACP country the main job provider  Agriculture related job are diverse, from to production to commercialisation, to provision of services, etc. CTA new strategy states that:  CTA will continue to support activities that encourage youth in ACP countries to consider agriculture as a viable career path.

Who are youth? For the United Nations, youth are understood as people aged between 15 and 24 In recognition of the age range where life transitions take place, the African Union has adopted a broader definition of youth that encompasses individuals aged between 15 and 35. (in the African Youth Charter) Taking into account young farmers issues and economic challenged by ACP youth, CTA has so far considered as Youth people aged between 15 and 35 years, like in the African Youth Charter

Some data on youth 72% of the youth population (UN definition) live with less than $2 a day (ILO 2006) More than 20% of youth in Africa have between 15 to 24 In 2005, 62% of Africa’s overall population fell below the age of 25 (World Bank 2008) – if we consider the youth age limit up to 35, this statistic is higer The 2009 ILO report on « Global Employment Trends » notes that the vulnerable employment rate in Sub-Saharan Africa was 74.7% in 2007

ARDYIS project Developing youth in agriculture policies (FANRPAN project; SPC in the Pacific) Encouraging young scientists/professionals in agriculture Supporting youth in various activities CTA covered the attendance of many youths to conferences : Ex; African Young Scientists Initiative on Climate Change and Indigenous Knowledge (AYSICC) conference organized by NEPAD Young farmers are part of targets of various CTA supported projects Youths form an important part of beneficiaries of CTA Web 2.0 Etc. CTA Youth initiatives

Promoting opportunities for youth in agriculture and ICTs

Agriculture, Youth and ICTs “We recommend that our skills to learn new technologies are properly valued, particularly in using ICTs” – Declaration of rural youths participating during the IFAD Farmers’ Forum, 18 February 2012, (Italy) “There is considerable scope for encouraging youth participation in ICT as a way of supporting agricultural business ventures” (dixit PafPNET/SPC) Youth spearhead innovation in Agriculture and ICTs

ARDYIS – launched in 2010 ACP agricultural development ICTs media rural communities value chain youth networking opportunities communication knowledge sharing par 1 of 4 Strengthen capacities on ICTs for ARD Contribute to sensitising on Agriculture and RD issues Target audience  young farmers  students in agricultural training courses  all interested youth Partners Yam Pukri SPC CAFAN ARD and Youth in the Information Society

ACP agricultural development ICTs media rural communities value chain youth networking opportunities communication knowledge sharing par 2 of 4 Dissemination of information: (opportunities, etc.) and discussions (Facebook page, website, dedicated mailing lists) +700 facebook members Training Web 2.0 training for ARD for 25 selected youth from ACP regions and Consultation on youth, ICT and agriculture (future) Key Achievements

ACP agricultural development ICTs media rural communities value chain youth networking opportunities communication knowledge sharing par Facilitation of the production of an advocacy document calling for stronger support for youth involvement in agriculture and ICT 6 key recommendations addressed to policy makers and ACP/EU/international institutions Endorsed and promoted by partner organizations and youths Promoted to key people/organizations (on going) Full title cited on hundred of web pages/sites (En/Fr) Consulted times on Ardyis website Achievements

ACP agricultural development ICTs media rural communities value chain youth networking opportunities communication knowledge sharing par Achievements About 3000 comments/and votes! Others : In 2010: essay competition : about 180 entries; 2011 : NEPAD and CTA essay

Production of a publication “Emerging Voices in ICT and Agriculture” Supported youth participation in Ag and ICT conferences (IAALD, water management, etc.) Some youth found job opportunities ACP agricultural development ICTs media rural communities value chain youth networking opportunities communication knowledge sharing par Achievements

Future Proper CTA Youth strategy development Supporting youth project Focus on:  Improving youth opportunties in rural areas using ICT  Using ICT to enhance youth involvement in agriculture

Thank you