According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the number of people affected by hunger has been steadily increasing since 2014. Achieving sustainable food security will require reductions in poverty, hunger, malnutrition, food waste, and lack of access to arable land—among other contributing factors. This kit contains 15 of the most informative resources on the YouthLead website related to youth participation in agri-food systems to bring us closer to that goal. Here you will find tools separated by focus: background materials on the current status of food security and hunger, materials on how the COVID-19 pandemic and agri-food systems feed into each other, and resources on increasing youth participation in local agri-food systems.
Food Security
The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World – The 2020 edition of the FAO report includes an assessment of the state of food security and hunger and projections of what the world may look like in 2030 if current trends persist.
Global Hunger Index – This resource shows that while global hunger has decreased since 2000, severe hunger persists in many countries, making their populations more vulnerable to food insecurity amid the health, economic, and environmental crises the world faces in 2020 The Index focuses on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nepal.
The Impact of Disasters and Crises on Agriculture and Food Security – The 2021 edition of the FAO’s Impact of Disasters and Crises on Agriculture and Food Security report provides an overview of the drivers of familiar and unfamiliar crises that undermine food security, including global warming, extreme weather, rising sea levels, overpopulation, inequality, and the systemic nature of risk. The report argues for increased investment in resilience and disaster risk reduction.
Agri-Food Systems and the COVID-19 Pandemic
COVID-19: Channels of Transmission to Food and Agriculture – In this report, FAO analyzes the effects of the pandemic on agricultural markets and the ways in which it has contracted both supply and demand.
Without Food, There Can Be No Exit From the Pandemic – This article explains how the interconnectedness of global supply chains threatens food security during health crises, exacerbating the pandemic. It advocates for countries to grow food in a more resilient way, reduce food loss, and improve treatment of smallholders and migrant workers.
Shaping a Holistic Response to COVID-19: Protecting Food Systems and Rural Producers – This article by the International Fund for Agricultural Development points to the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted food security and advocates building resilience to COVID-19 for people in rural settings by linking supply and demand in agrifood systems using mobile financial services.
Increasing Youth Participation in Agri-Food
Youth and Agriculture: Key Challenges and Concrete Solutions – FAO, the International Fund for International Development (IFID), and the Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation list the hurdles confronting rural youth who wish to earn a livelihood through agriculture, including access to skills, finance, land, green jobs, markets, and decision-making power, providing possible solutions for each.
What Works in Youth and Agriculture, Food Security, and Nutrition – YouthPower’s toolkit provides an overview of interventions that have effectively fostered agricultural skills; financial literacy, access, and capacity; and access to land among youth.
Developing the Knowledge, Skills and Talent of Youth to Further Food Security and Nutrition – This FAO report lays out the changing landscape of agricultural and rural markets and includes case studies of how to invest in training and education for youth to acquire the agricultural, financial, and entrepreneurial skills and capacity necessary to start agrobusinesses.
Promoting Agricultural Entrepreneurship Among Rural Youth – This article by the International Youth Foundation discusses key learnings and recommendations for rural agricultural entrepreneurship programs, including facilitating access to capital and fostering community buy-in.
Engaging Rural Youth in Entrepreneurship through Extracurricular and Co-Curricular Systems – This paper from the University of Florida explains how entrepreneurship education programs aimed at secondary students can reengage rural youth in agriculture as a viable livelihood option, providing examples of successful programs.
Engaging Youth in Agriculture through Information and Communication Technologies – This USAID report details challenges hindering youth involvement in agriculture and explains how information and communication technologies can attract more youth to the agricultural sector, spread awareness of agricultural opportunities, and increase productivity.
Rural Youth: Protecting the Climate through Innovation – This FAO article promotes three case studies of how young agricultural workers’ enthusiasm for technology and interest in trying innovative approaches can increase youth employment in agriculture and make rural communities more resilient to climate change, contributing to sustainable food security.
Youth Agrifood System Employment in Developing Countries: A Gender-Differentiated Spatial Approach – This IFAD study discusses how agri-food systems improve employment opportunities for youth when one accounts for youth participation in off-farm employment pre- and post-farm production. It also provides demographic difference on youth participation in agriculture, providing a guidepost to policymakers seeking to increase youth participation in this sector.
Responsible Agricultural Investment: Participation of Youth – This guide by the World Bank and UNCTAD provides best practices for investors and governments seeking to promote the active participation of youth in agriculture, including engaging youth in decision-making fora and enacting policies that facilitate youth’s access to resources and markets.
So Now What? Setting the Starter Kit in Motion
- Read through the available background material, using The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, COVID-19: Channels of Transmission to Food and Agriculture, and Youth and Agriculture: Key Challenges and Concrete Solutions as jumping off points.
- If working with a team, convene a team meeting to collectively reflect on the materials and apply tools to your organization’s culture, policies, and work with communities who experience food insecurity and stand to benefit from increased youth participation in agri-food systems.
- Evaluate your success using the SMART Goals: A How to Guide rubric and the Inclusive Value Chain Analysis and Development Handbook, making adjustments accordingly. When determining what constitutes success, also measure the extent to which you are including the experiences and voices of diverse socioeconomic communities, including those who are disproportionately impacted by food insecurity and its root causes.