Somali Youth in Agribusiness

Somali Youth in Agribusiness.

Youth in Agribusiness.

African countries have the youngest population in the world and the largest share of the world’s available arable land and each year 10-12 million of its young people seek to enter the continent’s workforce, too many without success. This highlights the great challenge of youth unemployment but can also be seen as an opportunity for them to become the engine driving new agriculture and agribusiness enterprises as well as rural transformation.

About 65% of the total population of Africa is below the age of 35 years and this is very significant for the development of the continent’s resources exploitation. The future of the continent is in the hands of the youth. They are one of the greatest assets and an inevitable force for improving the productivity and growth of all sectors of Africa’s economy. In the urban and rural areas of Africa, young people are in the majority. They are dynamic, enthusiastic, resourceful, creative, innovative and adventurous. They come from different and highly varied social backgrounds, cultures and traditions. They are very heterogeneous and they cannot be ignored any more if we are going to achieve an Africa renaissance in the 21st century. With proper planning and well-structured social and economic policy formulation, and implementation, Africa’s youth can be mobilized to provide goods and services for the continent and for the world in general.

There is 364 million Africans between the ages of 15-35. By 2045, the number of African youth is expected to double, 10-12 million new young workers seek employment every year. Urbanization with delayed industrialization led to "jobless growth" 60% of Africa’s unemployed are young adults, this proportion is growing Africa’s youth are better educated but to many lack business skills and Rural transformation requires that new and profitable ventures be initiated.

In East Africa and sub-Saharan countries, Agriculture (both crop and livestock) is the predominant economic sector in most sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, contributing over one-third of the region’s gross national product (GNP), and employing more than two-thirds of the labor force (including about 70% of the population living in rural areas). 

Increasing agricultural productivity in Africa calls for broad policy and strategic approaches that will address each of the factors affecting productivity: input production and delivery; technology generation; processing; storage; product transportation, and marketing and trade. These policies and strategies must be inclusive of the continent’s large youth population.

In addition that agriculture is stimulating economic growth factor, an agribusiness development path would contribute substantially to poverty reduction and improved social outcomes, forming part of a socially-inclusive development strategy. According to the World Bank, strong synergies exist between agribusiness, agricultural performance and poverty reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa. Efficient agribusinesses may stimulate agricultural growth and strong linkages between agribusinesses and smallholders can reduce rural poverty.

Whereas Somalia which its population is young, with over 70% under the age of 30, and 42% between the ages of 14 and 29.with such a large youth population, engagement in agribusiness is critical as youth exclusion, grievances, and perceptions of inequity have resulted in youth facing one of the highest rates of unemployment rate in the world for youth aged 14-29 is 67%.

Youths in Somalia are very important resources for nation especially for sustaining agricultural productivity in the country, an important sector for the development. The youth is a stakeholder in the development process especially in view of the great assets of youth, resilience, resourcefulness and perseverance. Unfortunately, this category of people is virtually left out in policies and programmes considerations.

In Somalia, There is insufficient youth participation in the agricultural sector even though this class of people is the most productive of any society as it contains people in the prime of their lives physically and mentally. Agriculture being one of the foundation pillars of any society can only function as such if this insufficient youth participation is reversed. For instance improving youth productivity in the agricultural sector and exploring effective livelihood diversification is imperative. Also, investing in the youth by promoting good habit is crucial if they are to realize their full potential

Challenges to Somali youth in agribusiness. 

• Insufficient access to knowledge, information and education

Poor and inadequate education limits productivity and the acquisition of skills, while insufficient access to knowledge and information can hinder the development of entrepreneurial ventures. There is a distinct need to improve young rural women’s access to education and entrepreneurial skills development, and to better incorporate agricultural and entrepreneurial skills into rural education.

• Limited access to land

Although access to land is fundamental to starting a farm, it can often be difficult for young people to attain. Inheritance laws and customs in developing countries too often make the transfer of land to young women prohibitive. 

•  Inadequate access to financial services. 

Most financial service providers are reluctant to provide their services – including credit, savings and insurance – to rural youth due to their lack of collateral and financial literacy, among other reasons. Promoting financial products catered to youth, mentoring programmes and start-up funding opportunities can all help remedy this issue.

• Difficulties accessing green jobs.

Green jobs can provide more sustainable livelihoods in the long run, and can be more labor intensive and ultimately involve more value added. However, rural youth may not have the skills (or access to the necessary skills-upgrading opportunities) to partake in the green economy. 

• Limited access to markets. 

Without such access youth will not be able to engage in viable and sustainable agricultural ventures. Access to markets for youth is becoming even more difficult due to the growing international influence of supermarkets and the rigorous standards of their supply chains. Young rural women in developing countries face additional constraints in accessing markets, due in part to the fact that their freedom of movement is sometimes limited by cultural norms. 

• Limited involvement in policy dialogue. 

Too often young people’s voices are not heard during the policy process, and so their complex and multifaceted needs are not met. Policies often fail to account for the heterogeneity of youth, and do not provide them with effective support. Policymakers themselves must actively engage youth. 

Recommendations.

1. Providing opportunities to Somali youth that promote innovative agricultural enterprise and agribusiness.
2. Raising agribusiness skill levels and economic opportunities to Somali youth. 
3. Advancing youth-led agribusiness networks and provide interactive agricultural information service.
4. Raising awareness of gender issues among Somali youth and providing equal opportunity for agribusiness advancement to young women.
5. Improving the practical agribusiness skill sets among future graduates of vocational schools and universities.

Author: 

Mohamed Osman Abdulkadir

+252616002014

mohamedshukri2@gmail.com

Mogadishu-Somalia