Policy highlights:
- Young Africans face many hurdles in trying to earn a livelihood from agriculture and agribusiness. Pressure on land, lack of access to credit and skills, and a mismatch between education and labour market demand are particularly difficult to overcome.
- Programmes aiming to redress these difficulties should invest in a number of activities: 1) skills and capacity development, e.g. by introducing trained youth to new, profitable agribusiness ventures and offering training on practical agricultural and market-oriented skills in educational curricula; 2) agribusiness development, e.g. by tracking agribusiness start-ups to assess best practices, economic viability and expansion, and advocating necessary policies to support youth engagement and decent job creation; 3) youth networking, e.g. by establishing National Youth Agribusiness Centres and establishing country mechanisms through stakeholder consultation; and 4) programme management and coordination, e.g. by establishing a clear governance structure as well as targeting criteria and monitoring mechanisms.
