African youths are now thinking right about agriculture

I take time to read and study what is happening around Africa very often.  It is part of my work. I want to understand Africa’s past, contextualize the present circumstances and get into the anticipation of the future. I am fortunate that information flows in torrents these days. There are so many slates to read from to know what is happening around Africa that one has to be selective to get manageable value from all what is available for one’s attention. Sometimes I have the benefit of statistics about what is happening within our continent, and in some instances I simply observe trends of what is going on. Africa’s Agriculture forms a significant part of what I always observe.

Farming was always part of African tradition. When the education system that our society has run with for some time was put in place, partly it was perceived as a means to escape the rigorous demands of traditional farming. In many instances, children were motivated to attend school and attain formal education as a means to escape into white collar privilege, leaving farming for those that were less fortunate and unable to attain academic qualifications. In this kind of environment, it was possible that as more and more people find their way into the education system, the agricultural sector would become less and less attractive, and become the occupation of last resort for those who had nothing else to do. Since African countries are currently, and for some years now, aggressive about providing education for all, the above scenario was not remote. We could end up with many people having academic certificates who would under look agricultural activities, to the continent’s detriment. There would even be disconnection between the education of the masses and the required transformation around agricultural productivity since the educated would not apply their knowledge to the sector, ordinarily. 

Fortunately though, there are now many youths who are taking up farming as a business, and growing the needed pride in the vocation of producing. I have particularly noticed a growing number of social media pages of farming enterprises managed by youths, especially in Eastern and Southern Africa. Many young people in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Sudan and other countries are investing themselves into farming and also sending out the correct message to fellow youths about the value of this occupation. They portray the right position of agriculture as a source of employment and income, as well as a key sector of our economies. Some of these youths, according to their social media bios, have actually studied and attained university degrees and other qualifications. Others even have not gone that far with formal schooling yet they are doing an excellent job of growing food and rearing animals to feed our societies. The perception that people who went to school and qualified from various institutions would be downgrading themselves if they went into farming is being dropped.
 
Youthful energy is critical in any vocation in the world, and equally so for farming. Farming requires vigor and hard work, even in societies where mechanization in farming is advanced. The youths have the energy. Needless to say, the times we live in also demand innovative thinking in all spheres of life, and farming is no exception. Innovation is often a comfortable companion of younger minds. Also, as we advance to modern farming methods, as we should, the younger people will be better positioned to deploy technological advances into our farming practices. I could go on and on, about why we should be excited when we see our youths taking pride in farming as a source of employment and income. 

Our continent boasts of 60 perecnt of the world’s arable land. The world, and especially our own continent, needs more food. Currently, we are bedeviled by the highest food insecurity in the world. Our youth unemployment rates are chillingly high. Our population is exploding at a terrific rate, implying that the above situations can only get worse, if left unaddressed. Meaningful agriculture is the most viable solution to a lot of the challenges related to the above. If we get agriculture right, we have many of the problems solved. If we do not, we may possibly even not make consequential progress in many other areas. The world is becoming more complex by the day. 

Nations weaponize food, against those who cannot feed themselves. Other nations seek to control the food production systems of others; including seed control technologies that endanger some and elevate others. Youths can be turned against their own societies if they lack meaningful employment, and hunger is a sure recipe for insecurity. 
With our youths developing the right mindset about farming, we must all work to make it worthwhile for them.

Raymond is a Chartered Risk Analyst and risk management consultant
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