NaijaAgroNet:
The 2015 African Agriculture Status
Report's co-ordinating editor and head, strategy, monitoring and evaluation,
David Sarfo Ameyaw, has said that the report highlighted a direct link between rising
level of unemployment among the under-25s and food security concerns, NaijaAgroNet reports.
The report also said modernising
Africa's agriculture sector to attract young people will help tackle youth
unemployment and food insecurity, warning that the continent will not solve its
chronic food shortages or worrying unemployment levels among its youth without
wholesale changes.
"Channelling the energy,
strength and dynamism of Africa's youth into productive, competitive and
profitable agribusinesses will boost agricultural production systems, create
jobs and generate incomes. The impact of youth involvement and participation in
agriculture and food systems will be seen in sustainable economic growth and in
the reduction of poverty and malnutrition across the continent," he said.
He told BBC News that studies had shown that a 1 per cent increase in GDP
from the agriculture sector reduces poverty five times as much as any other
sector. However, there were a number of long-standing barriers that prevented
or deterred future generations of would-be agribusiness leaders.
One was the lack of access to land.
"Africa has the highest area of arable land in the world but because of
the limitation of our land-tenure systems and land policies, it is very
difficult for the youth to access land," Ameyaw explained.
Another constraint was accessing
finance facilities. "The report points out that only about 25 per cent of
the young people in Africa have any form of access to finance, even things such
as a bank account or credit card."
Dr Sarfo Ameyaw said, along with
reforms to the barriers and constraints identified by the report, there was
also a need to "rebrand" the image of farming and the opportunities
for employment the sector offered, NaijaAgroNet
gathered.
Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE
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