FAO and AUC Virtual Technical Validation Workshop: Investment Guidelines For Youth In Agri-Food Systems In Africa.

Young people constitute the bulk of Africa’s population, with over 60% of Africa's estimated 1.2 billion people are under 25 years old. When it comes to the future of agriculture and food systems, the youth decent employment dilemma is unique. For Africa to achieve shared prosperity and poverty elimination, it is critical to create and expand decent jobs for youth in rural and urban areas, as well as to contribute to the development of food systems that are both sustainable and resilient. In Africa, youth employment is a top policy goal. The African Union has identified youth employment as a priority in key policy initiatives as part of its Agenda 2063 "The Africa we want"; the AU's First Five Year Priority Programme (5YPP) on Employment, Poverty Eradication, and Inclusive Development places a strong emphasis on youth as a priority group. This is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG 8, which advocates for the creation of full and productive employment for everybody regardless of gender, age and disability, and SDG 4, which pushes for quality education for all.

Agri-food systems have the ability to produce and scale up decent jobs for young people. According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), growth in the agricultural sector is at least twice as effective as growth in other areas in decreasing poverty. It has the potential to enhance youth creativity, energy, innovation, and entrepreneurship, resulting in more decent jobs and riches in the agri-food sector. Youth-focused investment programs in agri-food systems can have a significant impact on youth participation and empowerment. Investment programs can play a catalytic role in assisting national processes to create an enabling environment and supportive measures for young people to start, maintain, and expand viable businesses. In the agri-food systems landscape, creating this favorable youth-responsive environment will provide new and more jobs for youth. The diversity of young people and the variety of situations and conditions they encounter across the continent necessitates the consideration of various pathways and tactics, as well as the full participation of young people as major players in the development of those programs.

Through multi-stakeholder engagements and in-depth country case studies, a draft Investment Guidelines for Youth in Agri-Food Systems in Africa has been produced by FAO in partnership with the AUC. The goal of this handbook is to serve as a resource for governmental and private sector partners, including financial institutions, civil society actors, youth-led organizations, and enterprises across the region, who want to encourage more investment in job creation and agricultural growth in rural areas of Africa. On this note, FAO and the AUC are co-organizing a virtual technical validation workshop aimed at providing a platform for participants to share views and provide final recommendations towards the finalization of the Investment Guidelines for Youth in Agri-food Systems in Africa. It will also give participants the chance to examine effective, realistic, and novel entrance points for the Guidelines, as well as possible approaches to using the tool in various African nations to boost youth engagement in agri-food systems.

The Youth Café is honored to be invited to participate in this virtual workshop on July 13, 2021. As a youth-led and youth-serving organization pushing for youth inclusion in important decision-making processes, we look forward to learning from the incredible panel and provide our input to inform the final Investment Guidelines for Youth in Agri-food Systems in Africa document. In order to support this initiative further, four members including, Malika Pyarali, Maureen Amuhinda, Stacey Kamau and Patricia Mulunga of The Youth Café team will be volunteering as rapporteurs for the group discussions. During which time they will assist the moderator through the breakout sessions by taking detailed notes on discussions and recommendations, finalize the PowerPoint and present the groups key points at the end of the session. The targeted outcomes from this workshop are to increase knowledge of and interest in the guidelines, get suggestions to improve the content and format of the guidelines, and to get ideas on how to best utilize and promote the guidelines.

As highlighted in our three-year Strategic Plan, The Youth Café seeks to build a world on the collective principles of solidarity, justice, equity, universality, inclusion, human rights, diversity, and the integrity of the planet. We believe that actively participating in events such as these is an important contributing step towards achieving this goal.

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