AFRICA - Decent work for young people living in rural areas

Johannesburg (Agenzia Fides) - More than half of the population of Africa is under 25 years of age and it is expected that over the next decade, about 11 million young people will enter the labor market every year. Despite strong economic growth in many African countries, the salaried work is still very limited, agriculture and agro-industry continue to be the source of income and employment for more than 60% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa. However, the physical effort that requires small-scale agriculture is not what young people prefer who instead prefer to go to the cities in search of better living conditions. The phenomenon is worrying with regards to the impact it can have on agricultural production.
To entice young people to engage in the food industry, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the African Union body that promotes economic development, and the United Nations Organization for Food and Agriculture (FAO) have just launched a four-year project in Johannesburg, intended to create decent work opportunities for young women and men living in rural areas. The goal of the project is the development of rural enterprises dedicated to sustainable agriculture and agribusiness. The beneficiaries will be over 100 thousand people from Benin, Cameroon, Malawi and Niger. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 31/03/2015)