‘Youths must embrace technology, explore opportunities in agriculture’

Lazarus Sauti

Africa has about 60 percent arable land with between 60 and 70 per cent of its population employed in the agricultural sector.

The elderly constitutes a bigger number of the continent’s labour force in agriculture as youths shun the sector for different reasons.

“The dirty business of digging and hoeing is not for young and enterprising urban people like me, but for rural folks.

“I cannot imagine myself engaged in a dead-end and labour intensive profession like farming,” testifies Whatmore Mutaruswa, a Harare-based youth.

Emmanuel Kachingwe, another youth who shuns agriculture, believes it is not only dirty, but requires a lot of energy as well as resources.

“Farming is tough. It requires a lot of energy, financial resources and inputs such as seeds, pesticides and fertilisers. It is better to explore other opportunities than investing in agriculture,” he said.

However, lack of interest in farming activities by African youths has fueled poverty, unemployment and increased the suffering of many families.

“Africa is blessed with arable land, but its citizens, especially the youths are jobless. It is therefore noble for African governments to engage youth in agriculture and reduce high unemployment rates,” said Anoziva Marindire, a youth activist.

Rwanda’s expert on matters of Information and Communication Technology and youth development, Jean Philbert Nsengimana also says young people in Africa should embrace agriculture as it is the backbone of the economy and essential in reducing poverty.

Delivering his Budget Speech Vote Debate in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature recently, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) member Nhlanhla Msimango says youth should not shun working with the soil, but rather explore opportunities in agriculture as another way of empowering themselves.

“Agriculture is a major industry; actually it is a job in itself. Young energetic people must venture more into agriculture,” he said.

An expert in business development Gilad Millo believes agriculture, Africa’s untapped goldmine, has the potential to create jobs for the millions of African youth who are jobless even after graduating with good degrees.

“Agriculture is the backbone of the economy as it drives social and economic development. When youth get involved in agribusiness, they will make their own money and help their families with school fees,” Millo said.

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Indigenisation and Empowerment Christopher Mushowe, however, says there should be deliberate efforts to attract youths to view agriculture as more than a hoe and gumboots activity, but a science that can adopt precise technology to pinpoint aspects that require improvement.

He, therefore, called on young farmers to embrace information and communication technologies to drive growth of the agriculture sector through business networking, access to markets and better farming methods for high yields

“Information and communication technology is critical in the agriculture sector to access markets, new seed varieties and charges in climate which are affecting our continent.

“As a result, youth should embrace modern technologies and explore opportunities in agriculture to increase yields, transform economies and uplift communities from poverty,” he said. 

Economist Steve Kayizzi-Mugerwa adds that for Africa to solve its hunger problems, youth must embrace technology and treat agriculture as an economic pillar.

“Business cannot continue as usual in Africa’s agriculture sector.

“Youths must harness information and communication technology to strengthen linkages between small-scale farmers and commercial producers as well as integrating them into regional and global value chains.”

An expert in livestock and fisheries development, Josiah Cheruiyot, urges African governments to be financially committed if they are to develop infrastructure in agriculture and lure youths into farming.

“Agriculture is a major income earner and a stimulant to socio-economic expansion, but to realise its potential as well as to lure youths into the sector, government sectors must increase funding,” he said.

In 2003 the African Union (AU) adopted the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security at its meeting in Mozambique.

AU heads of state and government endorsed the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security which contains several important decisions regarding agriculture, but prominent among them was the “commitment to the allocation of at least 10 per cent of national budgetary resources to agriculture and development policy implementation within five years.”

Governments must set aside the agreed 10 per cent of their national budgets for agriculture as well as rural development and use that allocation to improve accessibility of information and communication technology facilities in both rural and urban areas for the benefit of both young and old farmers.

Marindire echoes the same sentiments: “African countries are exposed to many protocols and instruments that support the development of agriculture and rural development.

“They must exploit these instruments to their benefits, especially in areas of technological and infrastructural development,” she said, adding that “since technology has a strong appeal to young people, it should be used to lure them into farming.