UN - HABITATGC – 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 contextUnemployment and PovertyYouth & Agriculture: Opportunity for rural-urban development

Issues and potential solutionsInvesting in Young People: IFAD’s Guidance Note on Youth

Who are the Young People: Definitions

No universal definition:UN: 15 to 24 yearsAU: 15 to 35

Difference within & across African countriesKenya: 18 - 35Ghana: 15 – 35Ethiopia: 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 countriesYouth (aged 15 to 24) constitute slightly more than 32% of

Sub-Saharan Africa’s populationFAO 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 2013. 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 & menPoverty - 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 ambitiousHigher education level than

older farmersFuture of agric. - aging

farmers (60 yrs in Africa

Limited access to Land

IssuesLack 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 womenorights channeled through their

male relatives / Marital Status

Potential SolutionsLeasing land rather than relying

on inheritanceChange mindset towards agric.

as a business

Access to Finances for Agriculture

IssuesAccess 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 SolutionsInnovative collateral schemes

(Mshwari; social capital)Credit guarantee fundCrop insuranceCapacity for financial providers

Insufficient access to Knowledge, information and education

IssuesInadequate education limits

productivity & skills acquisitionInsufficient access to

knowledge & information hinders

Potential SolutionsCapacity 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

IssuesMarket structures often do not

favour young peopleYouth 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 SolutionsUse ICTs for market infoTrain youth to reduce post-

harvest lossesTraining on quality standardsProvide basic infrastructure

(e.g roads)

Innovation and Technologies

Youth cannot do agriculture using the hoe Need to create room for innovationSupport mechanization at all levelsUse 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-upsAdopt M&E systems that report on data disaggregated by

age.

Thank you for your attention!