Current and Emerging Youth Policies and Initiatives
with a Special Focus on Link to Agriculture
Zimbabwe Case Study
National Youth Policy Dialogue, 26 April 2013
Zimbabwe
TOPICS TO BE COVERED
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Research questions
Zimbabwe’s agricultural context
Zimbabwe’s agricultural zones
Regional differences and their importance
Youth perceptions of agriculture
Policy review highlights
The Holistic view of agriculture
Opportunities for youth engagement
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
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RESEARCH QUESTIONS
• What are the perceptions held by young people regarding agriculture?
• Are governments doing enough to incentivise youth involvement in all
aspects of agricultural production ?
• How have the youth organised themselves in the agricultural sector?
• What are the dynamics colouring the relationship between rural and
urban youth within this context?
• What is the extent of institutional and organisational support available to
young people?
• Do any symbiotic synergies exist between youth in agriculture and other
spheres of the economy?
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
ZIMBABWE’S AGRICULTURAL
CONTEXT
• Unique case study because land reform centralised
the issue of agriculture between 2000-2008
• Agricultural sector provides income for approx. 70% of
pop.
• Provides 60% of the raw materials for industrial sector
• 40% total export earning, contributing 15-19% of GDP
• 57% of the population is between 18-35 (2010
estimate)
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
Highly dualistic agricultural sector
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commercial sector, land is privately owned, production is for
the market and farms are run as commercial profit-seeking
enterprises.
• smallholder sector, households do not have title to the land
they farm, much of the production activity is family-based and
subsistence production remains an important part of
livelihood strategies.
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
• The mass transfer of arable land directly
meant that in the past decade thousands of
young people have received or have access to
land for both commercial and subsistence
agriculture. Therefore ASSUMPTION-> HIGH
YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN AGRICULTURE
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
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ZIMBABWE’S AGRICULTURAL ZONES
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
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REGIONAL DIFFERENCES AND
THEIR IMPORTANCE
• Based primarily on average quantities of rainfall and
their variability, these ‘natural regions’ provide a broad
framework for evaluating whether the difference in
agricultural activity affects youth perspectives,
organisation and policy implementation.
• zones I & II: highest agricultural productivity, levels of
organisation, institutional support
• zones IV & V: lowest agricultural productivity, mainly
subsistence farming, alternative economic processes
• NB. Because different agricultural environments 
different youth cultures and perceptions on agric.
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
YOUTH PERCEPTIONS ON AGRICULTURE
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differentiated nature of agricultural production across the various provinces in the
country has led to uneven levels of participation in agriculture.
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Young people in areas of high agricultural growth are likely to be more interested
in making farming a central element of their livelihood than those living in low
growth areas.
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the main difference is in the way they view agriculture in relation to the wealthcreation vs. subsistence models
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Rural youth: have limited access to information, resources and technical expertise
and so perceive and partake in farming mainly as a subsistence activity.
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Urban youth: have wider scope to commercialise their agricultural endeavours,
easier access to credit, technical support etc.
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
• Status and prestige play pivotal role in the way young people form their
aspirations and perceive agriculture. Agriculture in general needs to ‘rebranded’ to young people to change the perception that it is a ‘last resort’
activity.
• Humanitarian and aid agencies- Although it is an essential part of drought
relief, merely handing out food potentially creates dependent
relationships which disincentivise young people from agriculture (parent
perspectives)
• Youth feel disempowered in the policy formulation stage, they haven’t
organised themselves in a way that they can lobby government.
• Lack of a coordinated demographic-specific policy framework means
many youth are focusing on self-help
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
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POLICY REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
• Agricultural policies- broad and macro-level, not specific to youth,
implementation limited by lack of tenure clarity etc
• National Youth Policy- very wide in scope, but regarding agriculture
it emphasises training, land provision, access to credit and
education and skills development, enhancing the attractiveness of
the rural areas
• Disparity between policy formulation and implementation
• standard assumption on the policy side that ‘youth’ will play their
part- i.e. apply for loans, organise themselves etc, without
cognisance of education and so on.
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
• In light of all these issues then, what are the
opportunities for youth to engage in the
agricultural value chain in Zimbabwe?
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
CHALLENGES FACED BY YOUTH
• Limited access to finance/ inadequate training / broad and ineffective
policy frameworks from government/ poor lobbying capacity and
organisation among the youth themselves/ inefficient infrastructural and
logistical access and support, and so on.
• lack of contextualised policies for different agricultural zones.
1. Different agricultural zones specialise in different agricultural methods
and products, BUT are governed by a ‘one-size-fits-all’ policy
approach.
• Therefore, young people are creating alternative spaces of economic
participation (small scale mining/cross-border trading/hunting and
poaching/and other ‘quick-return, high-risk’ activities in the areas without
adequate agricultural support.
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
CONTEXTUALISING OPPORTUNITIES: THE
HOLISTIC VIEW OF AGRICULTURE
• Definitional focus on agriculture as limited to primary production
• To understand the value-chain and where they can participate,
youth must ‘re-brand’ and modernise their definition of agriculture.
• Identifying the symbiotic synergies between agriculture and other
sectors helps enable youth to engage and participate in the valuechain more proactively.
• Holistic view of agriculture leads to a better appreciation of
available opportunities, because regardless of sector we can see the
links to agricultural value-chain.
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
Agricultural value chain example
1)
Input/supply
3) storing
2) producing
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
5) marketing
4) processing
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR VALUE-CHAIN
ENGAGEMENT BY YOUTH
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The holistic approach to agriculture creates a wide range of opportunities in different fields:
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Engineering (support and extension to primary producers etc)
Pharmaceuticals (veterinary support)
agro-chemicals (fertilisers, pesticides etc)
processing and marketing (packaging, selling etc)
infrastructure and irrigation dev. (transport and logistics etc)
‘green’ technologies (bio-diesels, alternative energy etc)
ICTs (social media, GIS, modern training techniques/support etc)
banking and finance (cooperatives, micro-lending, MPESA etc)
R & D (new innovations in all fields above etc)
Agro-tourism (the next frontier that youth can champion?)
and so on....
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promoting greater sectoral linkages, value-chain development enhances job creation and
agricultural modernisation in Zim/ Africa
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
RECOMMENDATIONS
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Agricultural education must be modernised and prioritised
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Contextualised policy prescriptions, rooted in evidence based research of the
needs and requirements of young ‘agripreneurs’ are essential
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Finding creative ways to make access to capital easier (with adequate training
and support, youth not as financially risky)
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Replication and reward of success stories
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Modern ICT methods of business and information dissemination must be
tapped into
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Climate change awareness and adaptive farming techniques to ensure
sustainability
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org
Thank you
Siyabonga
Tatenda
Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
www.fanrpan.org