Youth Employment in Rural Areas

The potential of rural areas: innovation for more employment and food security

Africa as a continent has the youngest population worldwide. Even today, 70% of people there are younger than 30. About 400 million young men and women will enter the job market between now and 2030, and they will be looking for productive employment. The majority of them still live in rural regions, where smallholding farms are the main source of income and employment. Often, however, large parts of rural areas are cut off from dynamic economic developments, and local and regional markets are barely developed. The structure of the African agricultural and food industry so far provides very few attractive employment opportunities and future prospects. Agriculture is often considered a necessity for securing one’s livelihood, rarely as a business activity. High underemployment and youth unemployment are the consequence.

This is particularly detrimental in light of the crucial role of a modern agricultural and food industry for food production in times of rapid population growth. Agricultural production must increase by at least 50 per cent in the next 30 years in order to provide enough food for the world’s population – without exploiting the planet’s resources. Current studies like the CERES 2030 Report have focused on this connection and shown specific areas for improvement and possible solutions.  For instance, sustainable food production systems can generate a large number of new and better jobs. This is a central economic basis for the structural transformation of rural areas and for widely effective employment opportunities, both within and outside of agriculture.

Improved employment prospects for 30,000 young people

As part of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) special initiative “ONE World – No Hunger”, the global project “Rural Employment with a Focus on Youth” is active at two different levels:  apart from technical consulting for the BMZ, the project is implementing specific measures to improve the training and employment situation in the nations of Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mozambique and Malawi.

The project provides technical consultation services to assist the BMZ with developing and implementing international processes, in particular the G20 initiative for youth employment. The project advises on the development, implementation and impact monitoring of strategic approaches, and relevant analyses, experiences and concepts are broadly publicised through an exchange in specialist networks, events or training and capacity development measures. Young people in the partner nations also benefit from the support of the partners by the German development cooperation. For example, the “integrated approach to employment promotion” was adapted to the rural context, and good experiences and successful case studies from GIZ projects were compiled in the study “What Works in Rural Youth Employment Promotion?”.

In the four countries, this “integrated approach” is being implemented together with the partners. As a result, around 30,000 young people are enjoying improved qualifications as well as additional income and employment opportunities. Improved access to modern, market-oriented agricultural qualifications boost young people’s chances of finding a job or engaging in business activities thanks to new knowledge and skills. The approach also strengthens the existing business models of companies and smallholder farmers in employment-relevant value chains such as poultry, mango, passion fruit and chilli. New jobs and employment prospects emerge, the demand for qualified workers in the production and processing of agricultural products and related services increases. In order to bring together the supply and demand of labour, the project supports needs-based employment agency services. It promotes, for instance, the expansion of (digital) platforms, job fairs and internship programmes to ease young people’s entry into the labour market. In addition, the target groups and partners benefit from a mutual, international “South-South exchange” of good practice examples of successful project implementation and the development of favourable framework conditions.

Promising market potential of Malawian oyster mushrooms: pilot project creates new employment opportunities

Demand for oyster mushrooms in Malawian supermarkets is booming. However, many producers lack the necessary know-how regarding farming and processing techniques, and have no access to markets in the cities. Therefore, there is almost no commercial farming of the coveted mushrooms in Malawi.

Together with the Malawian NGO Development Aid from People to People (DAPP), GIZ is tapping into this job field. 80 motivated young farmers in the district of Mchinji are receiving practical training in the production, harvesting, processing and marketing of oyster mushrooms. Business coaching sessions support them with strengthening their business activities, professionalising their business model and building contact networks with supermarkets, hotels and restaurants in Malawi where they can sell their oyster mushrooms at a good price. This underpins regional economic cycles and connections with city markets, as well as providing young people with permanent employment. If the project is a success, the DAPP and GIZ plan to expand it to other regions and young companies in order to improve the training and employment situation in rural regions.