We must make agriculture exciting for the youth – AFDB PRESIDENT

“The future of our young people does not belong at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. It lies in us tapping their talents and putting our resources to support them”. These were the words of the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, while commenting on the AfDB’s key efforts that recognize the role of youth in sustainable development which resonates with the focus of the 2016 International Youth Day (IYD).

The 2016 IYD is about achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It emphasizes the leading role of young people in ensuring poverty eradication and achieving sustainable development through sustainable consumption and production.

AfDB had recently launched “Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA)”, a strategy which underscores the importance of Africa to promote transformative and inclusive development, where the youth are the drivers of the required transformation and are responsible for their own positive economic and social outcomes. JfYA is expected to reduce poverty, inequality, as well as economic and conflict-driven migration, increasing social cohesion and political stability.

The strategy will see the Bank invest $5 Billion over the next 10 years to create 25 Million new jobs. These investments are expected to open opportunities for 50 Million young people through skills development, and job creation in Agriculture, Industry and ICT. The initiative is expected to generate over $30 Billion in income gains for Africa in the next 10 years.

The Agriculture sector, according to Adesina, offers numerous opportunities for job creation for Africa’s youth. He said, “Agriculture is the future for Africa. We must make agriculture exciting for the youth; and we must stop looking at agriculture as a way of life, as a sector that manages poverty. Agriculture is a business; in fact it is the biggest business in the world”.

The AfDB, through its East Africa Regional Resource Centre (EARC), is currently in discussion with the Kenyan government on how to train youth in agribusiness and develop proposals on bankable projects that can be funded by the Bank.

 http://agronigeria.com.ng/must-make-agriculture-exciting-youth-afdb-president/