Driving Change: Incentives for Agriculture Careers

Driving Change: Incentives for Agriculture Careers

The major potential will exist for agri-food systems to accelerate job creation and reshape African economies as a result of the continent’s rapidly increasing food consumption, which is being driven by population and wealth development. It will be necessary for African agriculture to diversify and prosper to take advantage of these prospects. Millions of people living in rural regions will spend more money as farming incomes rise, accelerating the shift to a more varied and healthy economy. Increased earnings for the millions of people dependent on agriculture will increase demand for products and services in the non-farm sector, which will increase employment there as well as provide new job possibilities throughout the whole agri-food system.

Public initiatives to lower costs in farm production and agri-food systems, as well as address soil degradation, climate change, land scarcity, and concentrated land ownership, are necessary to make agriculture more lucrative and inclusive. Therefore, how well the enabling environment developed through policies and programs can boost agricultural productivity growth and enable agriculture to contribute to more widespread employment generation and the overall agenda for economic transformation will determine the future of work in Africa.

The world’s youngest and fastest-growing population is found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The population of the area is anticipated to double by 2050, increasing the subcontinent’s percentage of the world’s population from 12% in 2015 to around 23%. The labour force in Sub-Saharan Africa is growing at a pace of 3% annually, and by 2035, an extra 375 million young people are anticipated to be of working age. This expanding group of young people will present a significant chance for economic change if they can find gainful jobs. However, the growth of employment in the formal economy has lagged.

Only roughly a quarter of those just entering the workforce will find wage work in the formal sector, even under the most optimistic estimates. If not, the region will face increasing economic, social, and political challenges related to youth unemployment. Agriculture and the informal economy, the majority of which has significant forward and backward links with agriculture, will need to absorb a large share of these new workers into lucrative work.

At the same time, the region’s demand for food and agricultural goods is increasing due to the region’s growing population and economic development, creating numerous job possibilities not just in agricultural production but also across the agri-food systems.

However, Africa’s agricultural production methods have not kept up, and a growing amount of the food consumed there is imported. The cost of importing food into the subcontinent increased from US$ 6 billion to US$ 45 billion between 2001 and 2014.

If competitive domestic agricultural output can be increased, Africa’s fast population and labour force development, along with its import parity price circumstances for many food goods, provide significant opportunities for economic growth and the creation of jobs in agri-food systems. However, there are other forces at work that, unless aggressive measures are made to address them, might restrict the rate of employment growth.

Climate change and fast population expansion foretell a worsening water shortage, the emergence of new pests and illnesses, and increased temperature and rainfall fluctuation. Additionally, due to population pressures, the continent is experiencing increasing land degradation and shortages. Due to land subdivision through generations and increased competition for land, median farm sizes are decreasing in many nations to levels that produce little to no excess output.

Due to continual farming without adequate integrated soil fertility management, many smallholders are left with tiny plots that are deteriorating. Land costs in the area are rising due to population pressures as well, which limits young people’s access to it.

Policy-makers must foresee the changes impacting African agriculture and proactively develop and implement policies to address them to successfully capitalize on the rising potential for economic transformation and related employment opportunities.

The past 15 years have seen faster poverty reduction, higher labour productivity in non-farm sectors of the economy, and a more rapid diversification of the labour force from farming into the broader economy for African governments that have successfully encouraged farm productivity growth (Ethiopia, Rwanda).

Since the majority of African workers continue to work in agriculture, agriculture will continue to affect employment and livelihood prospects in both larger non-farm sectors and agri-food systems.

For most African nations, an effective approach to increasing employment might be built on a comprehensive agricultural growth plan that supports competitive and successful production and marketing systems.

While transforming agriculture in the area, a crucial balance must be achieved. Long-term, as has been the case in the majority of other parts of the globe, a successful economic revolution in Africa is expected to gradually move low-productivity workers out of agriculture and into higher-productivity positions in the non-farm sector. A steady and successful economic transition will be supported by inclusive agricultural expansion.

Since agriculture continues to employ a sizable portion of the labour force in the majority of African nations, agricultural development strategies that make them accessible to millions of smallholder households will have stronger multiplier and growth linkage effects that will increase job opportunities in the rest of the economy.

Evidence from Asia demonstrates that when agricultural growth is dispersed among a large number of small farms, multiplier effects that draw labour away from agriculture and into more desirable non-farm jobs tend to be weaker and less effective. Focusing public resources on commercialized medium- and large-scale farms may make it simpler to foster agricultural expansion, and recent trends imply that many African countries want this approach.

The difficult part will be finding ways to enhance off-farm employment prospects through wider economic growth processes and spending in local rural economies. The strength of growth multipliers in the non-farm sector, the pace at which job opportunities in the non-farm economy are generated, and the returns to labour from those possibilities will all depend on the rate at which agriculture productivity rises as well as how inclusive it is.

To improve the livelihoods of those who continue to work in agriculture either fully or partially, as well as to accelerate employment and income growth in non-agricultural sectors of the economy, including at various other stages of agri-food systems, and to foster economic transformation, agricultural productivity growth is therefore essential.

The future of employment in Africa will depend on the enabling environment established and the standard of public expenditures made in the agriculture sector by African governments and their development partners. Compared to all of their foreign development partners combined, African countries today invest around six times as much in agricultural and related rural development. Therefore, they play a crucial function.

Four strategic priority areas are indicated by the evidence. Governments must first enact inclusive smallholder development policies that raise the earnings of millions of rural farmers and create a cascade of positive employment impacts across the rest of the economy.

Agriculture research and development, physical infrastructure (rural electrification, road, rail, and port infrastructure), policies that lower the costs of private sector investment and promote competition, agricultural service delivery, and extension systems that make it easier for farmers to access productivity-enhancing technologies are the government actions that have the biggest impacts on agricultural productivity growth and poverty reduction.

Second, to encourage a robust and sustainable increase in agricultural production in the face of climate change, novel public investment strategies will be required in the years to come. Climate-smart farming practices are expected to be centred on soil amendments that retain moisture for longer periods and provide crops with a better reaction to synthetic fertilizer. However, most farmers lack access to the resources required to improve the organic content of their soil.

African governments would have the possibility to accomplish sustainable agricultural intensification and employment goals by integrating community resilience and climate-smart agriculture into larger employment programs.

Third, due to the continuous population expansion, rising land costs, and diminishing median farm sizes, many households are being forced to look for employment outside of their farms, both as agricultural wage labourers and in non-agricultural informal companies. This is particularly true for young people, who make up about 60% of the labour force in sub-Saharan Africa and are generally between the ages of 15 and 34.

Programs to support young people’s access to land will become even more crucial in light of the rising land subdivision, fragmentation, and concentration. Young people are becoming less and less likely to inherit enough land to run a profitable agriculture in many rural areas of Africa. In most places, this is a brand-new reality; 30 to 50 years ago, the majority of young people inherited property, thus access to land did not represent a barrier to farming activity.

Youth migration has accelerated because African governments have been reluctant to adapt to these shifting conditions in rural Africa. Taking advantage of young people’s potential to increase agricultural productivity is desirable, feasible, and necessary, especially given that 60% of the labour force is between the ages of 15 and 35.

However, doing so will require acknowledging how constraints on agricultural engagement are evolving and support for governments to create policies and programs to address these constraints. There is a need for a more thorough analysis that summarizes the available data on what has worked, what has not worked, and why.

Governments might support long-term goals for employment and subsistence by allocating greater funds for training in agriculture and related agri-food systems. Contrary to common belief, more than 30% of the agricultural labour force is under 35 years old, and the average age of those who work in agriculture is not growing. Agriculture is becoming more and more knowledge-intensive. The productivity of employees may be increased, and young “agripreneurs” can be empowered to seize new possibilities and support inclusive types of agricultural productivity growth with the help of well-functioning agricultural training institutions.

FAQs

1. What are the potential benefits of population expansion and economic growth for agriculture vocations and job creation in African economies?

The article addresses the possibilities for agri-food systems to generate employment and transform economies in Africa as a result of the continent’s fast-rising food consumption, which is being driven by population increase and wealth development. According to this explanation, when farming earnings improve, rural areas will see an increase in spending, which will result in a move toward a more varied and sound economy. Increased demand for goods and services in the non-farm sector may follow, creating new job opportunities across the whole agri-food system.

2. What opportunities and difficulties exist for the Sub-Saharan African region’s labour force and employment prospects?

The population of Sub-Saharan Africa is the youngest and fastest-growing in the world, according to the article. The region’s labour force is expected to grow dramatically, but job prospects in the formal economy have not kept up. It makes note of the fact that a sizable section of the labour force entering the labour market is probably going to find work in the unofficial sector, and agriculture is anticipated to be essential in absorbing these employees.

3. How can African countries use their agricultural potential to support the production of jobs and economic growth?

The feature puts more emphasis on the agricultural production methods which have not kept up with the continent’s daily increasing population and also its economic growth, which undoubtedly has been leading to an increased dependence on food importation from other well-to-do countries.

Based on this, increasing domestic agricultural produce has the potential to provide significant economic growth, but due to some activities infected by climate change and land degradation, it has become necessary for it to be solved. In order to provide jobs across the board for the agri-food systems, the report underlines the importance of policies that promote equitable agricultural expansion and raise productivity.

4. What are the primary strategies African countries ought to utilize in order to promote economic change and agricultural employment?

The major strategic goals of several African countries are listed in the article. The inclusion of legislation that supports smallholder development increases rural farmers’ incomes and has a positive impact on employment. Additionally, it assesses the value of funding infrastructure, cost-cutting regulations, and agricultural R&D. According to this blog article, promoting land access for the younger generation and employing climate-smart farming techniques increase sustainable agricultural intensification and job prospects.

5. How can African governments encourage an orderly shift from agriculture to non-agricultural business while boosting agricultural productivity?

According to studies, successful economic transitions must progressively shift low-productivity employees from agriculture to non-agricultural businesses with higher productivity positions. The significance of inclusive agricultural growth is underlined in order to support this shift. The blog post also discusses the need for farming regulations and education initiatives that will support farmers and the next generation in achieving long-term employment and subsistence goals.

 

---

We do hope that the information we were able to provide you is helpful. Check out other unique articles on our blog for more detailed information and do well to share with your friends and family. Follow us on our Twitter and Facebook to stay updated with premium details.

Please leave any comments or questions in the area given below.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in AgriTalker are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of AgriTalker. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors is of their opinion and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.

Information is presented to the best of our knowledge and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability concerning the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Therefore, any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. 

---

EXTRA: Be sure to consistently check https://www.agritalker.com/ for an abundance of valuable resources, including tips, news, and updates on agriculture and farming practices to stay informed and enhance your expertise in the field.