Youth perceptions of investors. Overall, young people interviewed had a more positive than negative perception of the agriculture investments surveyed. Moreover, young people’s views were, on average, more positive than the average across the sample. This was true of both young women and men. Young people appreciated the opportunities to gain a job or become an outgrower, and the associated training benefits; they noted the improvement that the presence of investments had on general economic activity, opportunities for women, and education possibilities. Nevertheless, young people were at times unsatisfied with pay and working conditions, noted that investments negatively affected their access to land (already a key constraint on their ability to participate in the agricultural sector; box 1), and often felt that they lacked a voice in decision-making processes.
Youth engagement schemes or policies. Few investment schemes or government policies that directly targeted young people were encountered in the research. Although more governments are crafting policies to address youth employment in agriculture, they may not yet be having direct impact at scale owing to budget and/or capacity constraints. Positive effects on youth arose primarily as indirect effects of the operations of the investment.
Positive spillover impacts of large-scale investments can improve opportunities for youth. Investments can have positive spillover effects beyond the direct operations of the investment itself: for example, opening a new market, introducing a new technology, or proving a new business model that triggers the start of a new industry. At best, the private sector shoulders the considerable initial risks, while its dynamism, skills, and experience are harnessed to drive economic benefits at scale. Young people tend to be more open to the associated innovation, technology, and opportunities and therefore more suitable to benefit from them (box 2). The field research found many examples of young people who had set up businesses to respond to demand created by the investment. For example, two women in their early twenties opened a shop and hotel near a flower farm to leverage the passing trade.
Outgrower schemes. Investments that employ outgrower schemes have a greater positive impact on rural communities than those that do not, owing to the income generation and technical assistance involved (UNCTAD and World Bank 2014). Young people’s ability to participate is, however, inhibited by a lack of access to land, difficulties in obtaining credit, and lack of skills training. For young women, these constraints are even more pronounced. To successfully integrate young people into outgrower operations requires dedicated training programs and schemes that help address these challenges.
Inclusive business models. Business models that involve smallholder farmers, while letting them farm on their existing land, have a good chance of success. Farmers can become partners in the investment through a variety of models with varying degrees of participation, including contract farming arrangements, management contracts, and outgrower schemes as well as more innovative joint ventures (see Note 3: Choosing an appropriate business model). Youth groups and organizations could become direct investment partners but they also represent a dynamic force within mixed groups of farmers and within their own family farms that can push those groups toward engaging in different business models.
Job creation. The impact that respondents rated most positively during field research—job creation—was a benefit particularly appreciated by young people. The creation of skilled or professional jobs in rural areas has encouraged educated youth to remain in or return to their home areas, in some cases invigorating local development and raising the aspirations of local youth. The creation of unskilled jobs has also provided incomes for rural youth, increasing food security and expanding possibilities for entrepreneurial activities and further education. The creation of additional job opportunities is particularly important for young people, who tend to have less access to land than older generations. There are, however, issues for concern, including reductions in employment numbers as the investment evolves and agricultural practices change (as through mechanization); the quality and availability of training; the types of employment (full-time, seasonal, or casual); to whom opportunities are made available (that is, local, national, or foreign workers); the quality or employment conditions of jobs (that is, low- or high-skilled, pay levels, decent work standards, and gender characteristics); all which affect youth.
Voice in decision-making processes. A frequent complaint of youth, especially young women, was a lack of voice in decisions that affect them. One young CEO of a processing operation complained that he did not have access to local or national government officials or older CEOs as a result of their prejudice against perceived inexperience. Young people often complained about a lack of participation in pre-investment consultations and forums for ongoing dialogue with investors. Some investments explicitly included representatives of youth organizations in consultations and community liaison committees. One investor appointed the head of the local NGO dealing with women and youth advocacy issues as its community liaison officer.
Youth targeting in community development programs. Most investors operate a scheme to provide benefits to the local community, such as schools, medical centers, or agronomic training. Some programs specifically target youth. For example, one operation donated tractors to a youth association and trained local youths as technicians to operate, maintain, and repair the vehicles. Another investor works with local community savings groups, which include young people, in a forum for skills transfer on producing the crops that the investor purchases from local farmers. These savings groups are a useful local institution that exposes young people to financial skills.
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