WG 3 Chair: Hon. Ms Janat Mukwaya Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries Members:

Key Issues Raised by WG 3 Rural sector as only host for country population doubling every 20 years Education alienates young people from agriculture; school leavers desire white collar jobs; can end up back home with nothing Education/training in rural areas as passport for migration to urban areas Agricultural training as an occupation of last resort Pressure to achieve Universal Primary Education and MDGs, regardless of its practical meaning for rural communities. Education/training has often not addressed poverty reduction nor necessarily led to viable livelihoods Return from investment in education/ training can be unclear Skill development as additional burden for overloaded school curriculum Skill development empowers people: they know own rights, valorize indigenous knowledge, cope with disaster, be more active inside community No blueprint for vocational skill development: what is the context, who needs to increase efficiency, for what, who can do it???

Process for Prioritizing Vocational Skill Needs Defining the “demand ” 1.Analyze national policy objectives and development plans/priorities 2.Analyze domestic and external market opportunities for food, agric and other “rural” products/services/jobs 3.Assess agro-ecol/ socio-econ context, production systems and potentials, and/or concerns/needs of rural people. 4.Determine demand for specific vocational skill needs/ key target groups/ expected outcomes’ Defining the “supply” 1.Assess a vailable/potential institutional & financial resources to satisfy skill ‘demand’ 2.Coordinate ministries, training institutions and other partners (business & NGOs) to build synergies in planning & implementing appropriate strategy for skill development 3.Custom design & delivery of skill development programs (formal and/or informal) for specific targeted groups/needs 4.Monitoring & evaluation of relevance/ effectiveness of skill development on food security, poverty reduction, income generation & sustainable development of rural communities. Getting organized to carry out the process: Who Steers? Who Executes? Who pays?

Relevant Approaches for Planning for Vocational Training in ARD Emphasis of skill development approach on learning outcomes not training inputs Planning for vocational skills for ARD may need different approaches from that employed for general education Various conceptual approaches used for planning policies and programmes for vocational skills in rural areas Meaning of “vocation” for rural people (often with multiple income sources) vs for urban people Livelihood approaches (i.e. people-centred, holistic analyses, household decision-making) as appropriate for defining skill needs. A rights approach can strengthen self-esteem of learners and increase accountability of education/ training institutions to rural community Partnerships approaches ensure that skills development matches work & income opportunities

Priority Target Groups for Skill Development Many different groups can benefit from vocational education,,i.e. Small producers (crops, livestock and fishing) for subsistence, food security and income generation, commercialisation Rural poor Large, rich farmers in rural areas who need high-level professional knowledge and business skills. Girls and boys (non gendered training) Primary students as future farmers (also as conduit to transfer technology to parents, i.e. present farmers) Post-primary students

Strategic Topics for Vocational Skill Development People related topics Human rights/issues (e.g. gender, self-esteem, value of local knowledge, citizen participation, etc) Livelihoods, learning and problem-solving approaches Community empowerment strategies Farmer field schools Human nutrition and diets Agri-business management (costs, finance) Agricultural marketing and trade Income and employment generation especially for youth

Strategic Topics for Vocational Skill Development Production related topics High-value agriculture and food products Vegetable gardening Livestock management and production in arid & semi-arid regions of Africa Best practices for modernization of agriculture/farming systems Natural resource management Post-harvest technologies

RECOMMANDATIONS 1 - NECESSITE DE REFONDER LES DISPOSITIFS DE FORMATION DES RURAUX sur la base de leurs potentialites, de leurs aspirations et de leurs besoins 2 - NECESSITE D’UNE INTEGRATION/COORDINATION DES DISPOSITIFS DE FORMATION DES RURAUX ENTRE LES DIFFERENTS MINISTERES CONCERNES (Education, Agriculture, etc.) 3 - NECESSITE D'UNE ELABORATION DE STRATEGIES DE FORMATION EN MILIEU RURAL