This country case study is part of the INCLUDE programme Youth in Just Food Systems Transitions. The research programme is supporting five country case studies to analyse the drivers and barriers of “just” food systems transitions in Africa, specifically zooming in on strategies to create decent livelihoods for young women and men.
Project Summary
This research project explores how a just transition in South Africa’s food systems can contribute to green job creation for youth, with particular attention to young women and other marginalized groups. The study responds to South Africa’s intersecting challenges of high youth unemployment, deep structural inequality, and increasing climate vulnerability, and asks how food systems transformation can become a pathway toward inclusive economic participation rather than reinforcing existing exclusions.
The research investigates how institutional and regulatory frameworks, power relations, and historical inequalities influence who benefits from emerging opportunities in sustainable agriculture, agro-processing, waste management, renewable energy, and digitally enabled food system activities.The study is being implemented in the two provinces Gauteng and the Eastern Cape, capturing a range of food system dynamics. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research combines surveys, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory methods, with involvement of youth researchers and youth-led organisations. Ongoing data collection highlights strong youth interest in “green” agri-food activities such as organic production, solar-powered irrigation, circular economy initiatives, and digital market platforms, while also revealing persistent barriers related to access to land, finance, skills, and institutional support .
Why This Project Matters
Food systems are central to livelihoods in South Africa, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas, yet young people face persistent barriers to meaningful participation. Youth unemployment among people aged 15–34 exceeds 45%, with young women disproportionately represented among those not in employment, education, or training. Historical land dispossession, persistent inequality, and gendered norms continue to shape access to resources and decision-making. Barriers, such as limited access to land, finance, skills development, and supportive networks, continue to restrict youth entry into agri-food systems and emerging green economy opportunities.
South Africa has adopted national frameworks addressing climate change and just transition, including the Presidential Climate Commission’s Framework for a Just Transition. However, food systems are often addressed only indirectly within these frameworks, and youth employment receives limited explicit attention. Existing policies tend to prioritise technical and productivity-oriented solutions, while giving insufficient consideration to agroecological approaches, power relations, participation, and the lived realities of marginalized groups.
By generating context-specific evidence from both urban and rural settings, this research aims to bridge these gaps. It seeks to identify concrete pathways through which food systems transformation can support meaningful, decent, and sustainable employment for youth, while also highlighting where institutional reforms, targeted investments, and participatory governance are needed. The findings will inform policymakers, practitioners, and development partners working to align South Africa’s food systems transition with broader goals of social justice, youth empowerment, and environmental sustainability, with lessons that resonate beyond the country context.
Research team:
Prof Ajuruchukwu Obi (Principal Investigator)
Professor of Agricultural Economics with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Sustainable Development, Research Design, Lecturing, and Rural Development. Strong education professional and editorial in various agricultural-related journals. He has managed a large number of agricultural-related projects over the years. He is a visiting professor at the University of South Africa, and Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at both the Hensard University in Nigeria and Kubu Science & Technology Institute in South Africa. He is providing both technical and administrative leadership for the INCLUDE project.
Prof Adrino Mazenda
Experienced Economist and NRF-rated researcher focusing predominantly on food security, livelihoods, and social policy. He has experience using GCRO data sets in publications and has over 15 years of project-related experience conducting research for government institutions, drawing on similar methodologies proposed in the study. He is currently a section editor of the journal. Frontiers Food Systems, and has numerous research awards to his name. His research focuses on food security, livelihoods, and development policies, dimensions he is bringing to the INCLUDE project.
Professor Maggie Kisaka-Lwayo
Chief methodologist at Statistics South Africa. Over 25 years as a consultant and fieldwork supervisor with international research agencies, notably the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). Her current assignment seeks to strengthen multi-stakeholder engagement on green job creation to inform governments, academia, and civil society on aligning socio-economic research with sustainability, inclusive growth agendas, and expanded opportunities for young people.
Professor Christian Mzuyanda
Prof Mzuyanda Christian is an Associate Professor in the School Of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Mpumalanga. He is an Agricultural Economist with research interests in agricultural development, agricultural policy and agribusiness development. He has published 22 peer-reviewed journal articles and 5 conference proceedings, with his publications appearing in prominent journals in South Africa and overseas.
