Employment for rural youth
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Employment for rural youth
The largest youth generation of all time is growing up in Africa. They play a key role in the transformation to sustainable agricultural and food systems.
For young people to become change agents, they need to have the right skills, networks, information and resources. Improving their employment prospects in the agri-food sector is key for sustainable development.
Africa’s rural youth needs better job opportunities in the agri-food sector. However, young people often lack essential tools such as access to information/advice, start-up capital and markets, networks and appropriate trainings. This is where the 360° AgriJobs approach comes in.
This integrated approach tackles labour market challenges in a holistic manner. How? Explore the four pillars of the approach on the left.
This approach was introduced by the German development cooperation and can be widely implemented to promote employment and advance rural development efforts – not just in Africa, but globally.
By showing its potential to provide productive employment opportunities, the approach promotes a career path for young people in rural areas and in the agri-food sector.
The approach aims at improving the long-term employment and income situation of young people focusing on environmentally friendly agricultural and food processing practices.
Farmers and agripreneurs need digital literacy skills to understand and apply new technologies to grow their business and adopt new vital technologies.
Advocating for gender-transformative change and mainstreaming a gender-sensitive approach in all activities is pertinent for an inclusive rural development.
Media advocacy and awareness-raising campaigns can play an important role in promoting agriculture as an attractive career option for young people.
70% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa is under 30 years old. It is the youngest continent in the world.
25 million young people enter the labour market every year. 14 Million of them are in rural areas.
Within these rural areas, large companies are scarce and employment opportunities are needed.
2/3 of the people work in the agriculture and food sector. However young people, especially women, lack knowledge, capital and access to markets.
75% of young people participating in the 360° AgriJobs Approach have improved their job prospects.
80% of small businesses supported have created new jobs.
90% of young people rate the trainings as relevant to the labour market.
The 360° AgriJobs approach opens diverse pathways for African youth– from gender-sensitive projects to the swift creation of jobs through micro-enterprises. Benefiting from this approach in combination with different projects and partners, young people have experienced transformative changes through training, mentoring, employment matching, networking, and improved access to finance. Here are some of the hundred’s stories worth telling:
Discover how Febelsa transformed her life through egg farming, selling 5,000 eggs monthly and creating local jobs.
Innovating honey production with recycled tire beehives, how Vinceras honey business boosts the local economy and inspires community growth
Explore how Kelvin Wamalwa transformed his life from casual farm work to co-founding a thriving agribusiness.
Explore our extensive resources, including toolboxes, podcasts, articles, videos and more, covering key topics like Rural Youth Employment, Gender and Youth, Agroecology, and Access to Finance.
In the Resource Library, you can access practical how-to-papers, guides, innovative training curricula, country-specific examples, and tools for business model creation and facilitating matching opportunities.
Employment for rural youth
Nurturing entrepreneurial endeavours, fostering innovation and cultivating sustainable growth opportunities for businesses within the agri-food sector to create new jobs.
This pillar focuses on self-employment opportunities where individuals can eventually grow their business and employ others. It promotes youth-centered business models that require low investment, pose low risk, and offer quick payback across the value chain, including production, processing and services. Additionally, it aims to accelerate the financial inclusion of youth and encourages cooperation with lead firms in incorporating youth-led farms into their business models.
“I knew there was a demand for my mango products, but I didn’t know how I was going to raise funds for bigger equipment and more space, or even for employees.”
-Adjaratou, Burkina Faso
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More Information Empowering youth for workforce readiness through vocational trainings and targeted short-term courses that impart crucial skills relevant to the labour market.
For this, involving the local private sector in curriculum development, internships and career guidance is key. As formal employment in rural areas is a rare find, most youth will pursue self-employment. Preparing youth for the rural labour market, requires trainings that combine technical, business, entrepreneurial and soft skills. Further, it must be based on a functioning business model to adequately prepare youth for their profession.
“Through the training, I gained the vision to expand and grow more as a woman by cultivating and exploring my plants. I’m not staying at the same level.”
-Joana, Mozambique
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More Information Facilitating the alignment of young talent with opportunities in the agri-food sector through job and business fairs, digital platforms, career guidance and internship programmes.
The “matching formats” provide access to the labour market and business information that youth – especially in rural areas – are oftentimes lacking. This includes information about job opportunities, career options, further trainings, coaching and mentoring support, and possibilities in receiving financing. It is also crucial to create networks with new business partners.
“Within the startup competition, the networking and pitching sessions were a real eye-opener. They gave us a chance to exchange ideas with other entrepreneurs and learn what worked for them.”
– Patrick, Malawi
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More Information Supporting youth organisations, young producer cooperatives and robust networks of founders and alumni.
It’s important to focus on business within youth networks to help them connect to the market. This also allows these networks to offer business services to their members. They also create access to information on job, business or training opportunities for their members.
Youth organisations play a crucial role in advocating for young people’s interests and getting them involved in national policymaking. By linking young people with companies through internships and production programs, we can create more secure job opportunities for them.
“I realised we, the youth, have the same challenges and need the same solutions, like markets for our products, capacity building, access to information. A mentor challenged me to come up with a concept for a youth group.”
– Curlstar, Kenya
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“To be honest, I never thought about taking the leap into self-employment. Apart from that – I wouldn‘t have known how to do it. My very own success: I am no longer dependent on my parents. Even better, I can finally give something back to them.”
– Renny, poultry farmer (Kenya)
“I make compost as a source of income and to preserve our environment. It makes me very proud to be the number one compost producer in my area. I also decided to produce a bio-repellent – not only for my own production but also for other producers.”
– Sansan, Burkina Faso
“Thanks to a digital career platform, I learned how to write a better CV, compete in job interviews and finally found a job in a seedling company that was advertised on the platform.”
“It is difficult for me to find suitable employees. For many women of my age, family responsibilities always take precedence. Even my husband smiled at me at first and did not believe in me. Today, he supports me and takes care of the children when I cannot make it home on time.”
– Adjaratou, Burkina Faso
“It’s high time for young people to migrate from just conceiving agriculture as a culture or tradition and to now start embracing agriculture as a business which can assist in creating sustainable employment.”
– Brian, Malawi
Read more about Brian’s peanut butter business journey and why he wants to inspire other youths
Shamba Shape Up: Kenyan television show on modernizing farming businesses
The Agri-Jobs 4 Youth Podcast from Kenya
Podcast: How can we strengthen rural areas and create sufficient job opportunities?
Febelsa has taken off as an entrepreneur. Her business model: chicken eggs – of which she sells about 5,000 a month.
Alongside 500 other young people, Febelsa benefited from start-up support at a nearby agricultural school where completed a four-week training course. “I learned how to raise chickens, produce eggs, and then sell them for a profit”, she explains. She also gained business skills and received start-up capital from the local NGO AfricaWorks.
“I started with 210 laying hens, and soon I will be able to buy more from my own profit and expand my business,” Febelsa says proudly. Four months later, she stands in her own chicken coop – the barn is clean, the water fresh, and all animals have food. Every morning, she collects eggs before her first customers arrive.
The prospects for expanding her business are promising. Eggs are a staple food in Mozambique, and demand is high. Until now, most eggs have been imported from neighboring countries. Despite widespread poverty and scarce job opportunities in Mozambique, Febelsa’s business has flourished. She sells about 5,000 eggs a month, earning seven Mozambican Meticais per egg, equating to roughly 500 euros. This income allows here to buy sufficient food and medicine for her chickens and even to employ a full-time worker.
Vincera’s journey is one of innovation and sustainability. Along with her partners – Gilbert and Martha – Vincera founded “Nature Serve”, an agribusiness centered on honey. They process and market honey while supporting local farmers with training in honey production. What makes their approach unique: They are using and selling affordable beehives made from recycled tires, which yield higher honey production and conserve wood, a scarce resource in Malawi.
With support of a training program by GIZ’s “Rural Employment with a Focus on Youth”, Vincera developed a business plan that won a local competition. The prize money allowed her to invest in beehive production, attract new customers, and grow the business. Taking calculated risks, like securing a loan to fuel growth, paid off.
“During the training, we learned how to analyze our target market and identify sales opportunities. This boosted my confidence in running an agribusiness,”
Every month, “Nature Serve” sells over 500 jars of honey which generates around 1,250,000 Malawi Kwacha (€1,100) in revenue. This allowed them to hire two more employees and repay their loan. Next, they plan to register the company officially, expand their market, and improve honey quality with better equipment. Vincera’s commitment inspires her community:
“Our company has had a positive impact on the local community by creating jobs and inspiring and motivating local youth with our success. The beekeepers we work with also tell us that by providing concrete knowledge on beekeeping and our marketing know-how, we have helped increase their personal income.”
Kelvin Wamalwa, 26, began his journey like many other young Kenyans, facing limited job prospects after high school. He took on casual farm work and completed a computer training program. Though he didn’t pursue a career in IT, the training was a turning point because his trainer was also the chairperson of the Bungoma County Youth Visionary Network. When Kelvin attended one of their meetings, it was an eye-opener for him: “I saw that there are things I can do in farming to generate money, without waiting for employment. I can even use my IT skills for online marketing of my products.”
Inspired by the potential in farming, Kelvin joined a short agribusiness course at Friends College Kaimosi where he learned about passion fruit farming and value chain opportunities. After this, he co-founded a business with two peers, including a tree nursery and seedling production, mainly for passion fruit. They cleverly exploited the value chain by processing the fruit and selling the juice – alongside other products like eggs, peanuts, and honey. Their business grew rapidly, allowing him to hire three other young employees.
“It’s a great start, but I’m aiming much higher: My goal is to get at least 50 to 60 youths from around here employed.”
Seizing further growth opportunities, Kelvin participated an incubation program by Agri-Jobs 4 Youth to gain entrepreneurial skills. He then applied for and won a grant for commercial fruit processing equipment. His plan is to invest in a freezer to manage off-season supply, ensuring a steady flow of products throughout the year. Next to managing his own business, Kelvin remains an active youth organization member, supporting other young members:
“Start something in agribusiness, even one chicken can be a start. Learn from those ahead and join hands with others.”
“Youth run away from agribusiness because they view it as something negative that can’t bring them money. I’m not saying it’s an easy journey, but as youth we have the energy to do something. Especially when we come together as a group.”
Curlstar, Founder of the Vihiga Youth Agripreneurs Network (Kenya)
“Not long ago, I didn’t have any work of my own, I just did what everyone in our village does – help my parents in the fields. I never thought that one day I would start my own business. I would like to see more young people to have the courage to start their own business in the countryside.”
Fabelsa, chicken egg producer (Mozambique)
“During the Covid-pandemic, I had the idea to produce Mango juice, as I knew that demand was there. Thanks to the right support, I have built up a professional production, employing three people during Mango season.”
Adjaratou, Fruit juice entrepreneur (Burkina Faso)
“I started a banana nursery with two friends to provide farms with virus-free, high-quality seedlings. Our vision is to substitute banana imports from Tanzania with local production.”
Patrick, Seedling nursery (Malawi)
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