On December 8, INCLUDE and the Food & Business Knowledge Platform (F&BKP) organize the lunch meeting “Youth-inclusiveness in agricultural transformation” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The focus of this meeting will be on youth inclusiveness in agricultural transformation, with a special focus on knowledge sharing, policy making, employment creation and the effects on food security.

The lunch meeting will delve into an important nexus of development concerns in Africa: food insecurity, rapid population growth and youth unemployment. The agri-food sector is expected to offer great opportunities to tackle these issues. Several “problematic areas” for youth inclusion in agriculture have been defined by scholars, policy makers and practitioners, such as access to knowledge, information and education, access to land, access to financial services, access to green jobs, access to markets, and engaging in policy dialogue. Nevertheless, policy and program framing and responses to the “problem” of young people and agriculture in Africa are still hampered by a lack of (context specific) evidence and therefore often fall back on “common knowledge”, assumptions and narrative. This meeting will look into opportunities for engagement of young people in agri-food systems more broadly in different places.

This meeting builds on the conclusions drawn during the side event that INCLUDE organized during the African Development Bank Annual Meetings in May 2016. It also builds on the work of the F&BKP, INCLUDE and AgriProFocus on a quick scan of the results and lessons of three country studies (Kenya, Mali and Ghana).

Keynote speaker Dr. Jim Sumberg from IDS will provide a short introduction of the paradigm of the  current youth debate and the state of agriculture. Thereafter, the results from the country cases are shared to fuel the debate on what works in what context and how the Netherlands can ran relate to this. Building Bridges will also share the main lessons from the Road to Nairobi related to agriculture and youth entrepreneurship. The discussion can contribute to a forward looking knowledge agenda, policy and practice.

Preliminary agenda

12h00
Welcome by the moderator

12h10
Opening speech by key-note speaker Jim Sumberg from IDS

12h30
Q & A with the topical expert.

12h45
Sharing of most important results of quick-scan country cases on factors and policy around youth-inclusiveness in agricultural transformation in Mali, Kenya and Ghana.

13h00
Sharing of main insights on (agriculture and) youth entrepreneurship from the Road to Nairobi.

13h15
Reflection by policy makers. Sharing of practical examples.

13h30
Debate with participants.

13h50
Closing.

If you would like to join this Lunch meeting or if you have any questions, then please contact info@includeplatform.net