Youth agenda stands out in upcoming Africa food systems forum

Every year, between 10 and 12 million young people enter the labour market in Africa, but only three million manage to secure jobs. As a result, more than half of the continent’s youth are either unemployed or inactive, with 72 percent living on less than $2 per day and at least 80 million of them suffering severe poverty, according to the African Development Bank.

Even among those who are employed, 37.5 percent experience working poverty. Additionally, the lack of gainful employment is causing a significant brain drain among the youth, with 34 percent of African immigrants being under 24 years old.

Amidst this crisis, the vast opportunity to harness young talent in transforming Africa’s food systems is being overlooked. The continent is actively working to improve its food systems to meet the needs of its growing population and to potentially trade with other regions.

With their energy, technological proficiency, and adaptability, the youth are crucial to this transformation. However, they are often sidelined and struggle to access essential production resources such as land and financing. Indeed, less than 10 percent of Africa’s young people own land, while McKinsey notes that only a small fraction of the continent’s youth have access to formal financial services.

Thankfully, many industry stakeholders agree that this state of affairs is no longer tenable. They are actively working towards driving the inclusivity of youth across all aspects of food systems, from policy creation to farm work, value addition, and marketing. Leading players in Africa’s food systems are now centralizing the youth agenda across their strategic objectives while creating the opportunity for youth leadership and engagement.

However, even with shared objectives, many of these stakeholders tend to operate within silos, making it difficult to achieve the consolidated action needed for widespread impact. It is now imperative that partnerships are established encompassing governments, private sector players, development organizations, farmer organizations, and others, forming a pool of ideas and resources to drive the common objective of youth empowerment.

A perfect opportunity for this meeting of the minds is right around the corner, with different stakeholders invited to Kigali, Rwanda, from September 2 – 6, 2024 for the African Food Systems Forum (AFSF 2024). The biggest conference focused on Africa’s agri-food systems, AFSF 2024 introduces a structured program around nine thematic platforms, which aim at strengthening the position of youth, women, financing, policy, sustainable production, regional trade and markets, climate, nutrition, and digitalization.

Among the nine, the youth platform has been given the most prominence as it best aligns with the theme of this year’s summit, ‘Innovate, Accelerate and Scale: Delivering Food Systems Transformation in a Digital and Climate Era’, which highlights the forum’s commitment to promoting innovation, rapid progress, and scalable solutions within Africa’s food systems. Recognizing the critical role of youth in this transformation, AFSF 2024 will revolve around the ‘Youth Dome’, an innovative space dedicated to elevating the voices and contributions of young people in shaping the future of agriculture and food systems in Africa.

Among the standout Youth Dome sessions is ‘Seeds of Change’, which will bring together investors, policymakers, and Business Development Service providers to explore collaborative solutions that can propel young entrepreneurs towards a sustainable and prosperous future in agriculture. The session seeking the ‘African Youth Position on Food Systems, Policy, and Climate’ will present knowledge documents and consolidated voices of African youth, underscoring the critical role of young people in shaping sustainable food systems and influencing policy decisions to address climate change.

Separately, a ‘Cross-Generational Leadership Forum’ will foster meaningful dialogue between young people and experienced policymakers, providing a platform for youth to express their needs and priorities for effective engagement in policy processes. This is as an ‘Indigenous Youth Event’ facilitates discussions on the intergenerational transfer of knowledge and preservation of cultural heritage. This session aims to inspire a greater appreciation for the contributions of Indigenous youth to sustainable agriculture and cultural preservation.

At the same time, a hackathon and startup pitching for the GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize will bring to the stage Africa’s young innovators who will showcase their leadership in digital innovation and entrepreneurship, with winners taking home as much as US$50,000 each in cash prizes.

I have taken the liberty to go into the details of the forum’s youth dome sessions because, as you may have noticed, the selection of topics has been deliberately designed to encourage participation from other conference sessions in the youth agenda. In the coming days, you will see extensive media content emerging around AFSF 2024, highlighting the forum’s central role in driving action for Africa’s continental food system transformation.

The AFS Forum’s year-round activities under thematic platforms will continue to support the high-potential youth innovators identified and highlighted during this year’s forum. The goal is to provide ongoing productive resources to these youth-led businesses and to strengthen the policy environment through AFS Forum partners. These efforts will take place in countries across the continent where the innovators operate, and AFS Forum partners are present.

This, indeed, will be an opportunity to engage with the who’s who in Africa’s food systems, and it is expected that at the end of the four-day summit, major decisions and partnerships will have been made for ultimate wins for the youth and the entire continent.

Dickson is the head of thematic platforms and innovation programs at the Africa Food Systems Forum.