UN - HABITAT GC – Side Event 21 April 2015 Elizabeth Ssendiwala Gender & Youth Coordinator, IFAD-ESA Harnessing the youth demographic dividend for sustainable rural ‐ urban development

Outline  Who are the Young People? Definitions & Demographics  Policy context  Unemployment and Poverty  Youth & Agriculture: Opportunity for rural-urban development  Issues and potential solutions  Investing in Young People: IFAD’s Guidance Note on Youth

Who are the Young People: Definitions No universal definition:  UN: 15 to 24 years  AU: 15 to 35 Difference within & across African countries  Kenya:  Ghana: 15 – 35  Ethiopia: 15 – 29

Who are the Young People Youth bulge:  1.8 billion youth globally (10 and 24)  About nine out of 10 people between the ages 10 and 24 live in less developed countries  Youth (aged 15 to 24) constitute slightly more than 32% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population  FAO estimates - 70% of youth in SSA reside in rural areas Youth not homogeneous: gender, marital status, level of education, legal status, rural vs. urban Given the youth bulge: i)Will the developing economies offer decent jobs ii)Will they take advantage of the ‘demographic window’ to eradicate poverty?

Policy Context: National Youth Policies As of April 2014:  Out of 198 countries, 122 (62%) had a national youth policy, up from 99 (50%) in  Across all continents, 37 states (19%) are either developing a new or revising their current youth policy,  31 countries have no national youth policy at the moment (16%) - Of those, 14 are in Africa, 9 in Asia, 5 in the Americas, and 3 in Europe Need to involve youth in Policy Designs and Reforms – Giving youth a voice / representation in policy and governance arenas

Unemployment & Poverty  Globally, about 75 million are young women & men  Poverty - most obvious consequence: 72% of the youth in Africa live with less than USD 2 per day  The highest rates of poverty are observed among young women & young people living in rural areas

Youth and Agriculture  While formal sector offers scope for creating jobs and raising incomes for youth, rural enterprises also provide important income-earning opportunities & can mitigate against rural/urban migration.  Youth face particular constraints in gaining access to inputs & resources: Limited access to land Access to Finances for Agriculture Insufficient access to Knowledge, information and education Limited voice in Policy dialogue Innovation and Technologies extension services and social capital

Opportunities – Potential to transform Agric.  Youth are Innovators: They bring talent and creativity  Linking Agriculture and Technology  Youth more likely to adopt new technologies & innovations in Agri.  They have Energy, vigor and are ambitious  Higher education level than older farmers  Future of agric. - aging farmers (60 yrs in Africa

Limited access to Land Issues  Lack of information  Inheritance o fragmented & unviable land parcels o landless or secondary rights users o life expectancy is increasing  Adult small-holder farmers have small parcels of land  Cultural discrimination against young women o rights channeled through their male relatives / Marital Status Potential Solutions  Leasing land rather than relying on inheritance  Change mindset towards agric. as a business

Access to Finances for Agriculture Issues  Access to capital and credit for smallholders especially youth in Africa is a perennial problem  Financial providers rarely have products suitable for young people  Most MFIs require loan guarantees (land titles, steady employment, personal guarantors, group guarantees  Inadequate finances hinder access to agric. inputs (improved seeds, fertilizer, mechanization etc) Potential Solutions  Innovative collateral schemes (Mshwari; social capital)  Credit guarantee fund  Crop insurance  Capacity for financial providers

Insufficient access to Knowledge, information and education Issues  Inadequate education limits productivity & skills acquisition  Insufficient access to knowledge & information hinders Potential Solutions  Capacity building Mentoring for entrepreneurship (e.g IFAD’s Household methodologies)  Appropriate education & training policies (emphasis on entrepreneurship)  Extension services for youth (e.g FFS & Junior Farmer Field Schools; Mukulima Young)

Limited access to markets Issues  Market structures often do not favour young people  Youth are usually not sufficiently organized and/or lack experience to counter the strong market actors  Inadequate knowledge of how markets work  Young rural women face additional difficulties Potential Solutions  Use ICTs for market info  Train youth to reduce post- harvest losses  Training on quality standards  Provide basic infrastructure (e.g roads)

Innovation and Technologies  Youth cannot do agriculture using the hoe  Need to create room for innovation  Support mechanization at all levels  Use of ICT

Investing in Young People: IFAD’s Guidance Note  Involve youth in project/program design process;  Socio-economic analyses on youth specific opportunities and constraints;  Comprehensive approach to promoting youth’s development in general and decent work;  Mainstream youth considerations across components and sectors  Enable youth’s participation in the projects’ management & organizational set-ups  Adopt M&E systems that report on data disaggregated by age.

Thank you for your attention!