Combating rural youth

unemployment through
Agricultural
Innovative practices in Zambia
Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary
2. Emerging Issue
2.1.The Tragedy of rural youth unemployment in Zambia
2.2.Emerging Issue
2.3. Key employment Challenges facing the rural youths in Zambia
2.4. Key assumptions and Methodology
3. Innovations
3.1. Innovative Practices addressing rural youth unemployment
3.2. Case Study Analysis
3.3.Why Agriculture
3.4. Challenges facing the rural farmers in Zambia
3.5. Back to the Field Initiative
3.6. Key Recommendations
3.7. Counter Argument to the recommendations
4. Conclusion
5. References
1. Executive Summary
Unemployment affects everyone, whether young or old. However, according to studies,
youth unemployment is two to three times higher than that of adults (GIF, 2020). As an
emerging issue, youth unemployment is one of the most researched challenges facing the
globe and Africa today. However, the majority of studies have been focused on those
living in urban areas; hence most of the solutions that have been developed are biased (
FAO, 2018)(Pilgaard, Søren & Birch-Thomsen, Torben, 2013). This has resulted in more
youths in rural areas continuing to be unemployed and the majority of them migrating to
urban areas searching for jobs (FAO, 2021). Although there are many common problems
relating to unemployment faced by urban and rural youths, rural youth face extra and
unique problems due to them being isolated and lacking access to opportunities that the
urban youths might have at their disposal( GIF, 2018). Despite the steps and measures
that have been employed in the past by development organizations, national government
and individuals, rural youth unemployment seems to be skyrocketing in Zambia, thereby
increasing the poverty gap and the number of youth migrating to look for jobs in urban
areas (Pilgaard, Søren & Birch-Thomsen, Torben, 2013)(FAO, 2021). Owing to this,
there is a need for innovative solutions to address the unique unemployment challenges
facing the rural youths in Zambia.

This paper seeks to analyze the challenge of rural youth unemployment and highlights
some of the unique unemployment challenges facing the rural youths in Zambia. It
further points out some of the innovative agricultural solutions currently addressing rural
youth unemployment and further provides key recommendations to the challenge. This is
done with the help of a case study analysis of one of the innovative solutions in
Agriculture called the Yapasa program that has been employed in addressing rural youth
unemployment(YAPASA, 2017) (FAO,2021). Building upon a Case Study and other
innovative practices addressing the issue of youth unemployment, key recommendations
are brought to light which could be taken in harnessing the power of agriculture in
reducing youth unemployment in rural settlements of Zambia. Furthermore, the paper
presents a proposed innovation called the "Back to the Field Initiative", which could be
undertaken to tackle the rural youth unemployment in Zambia. The Back to the Field
Initiative aims to encourage the youths to venture into agriculture as a business,
especially in rural areas. In this program, the government or other concerned
stakeholders could create a fund and program to directly support the youths in rural areas
to venture into agriculture as a business by giving them access to financial support units,
agricultural skills-building opportunities and access to profitable Markets. This solution
best fits the unemployment challenges facing rural Zambia because agriculture has
proven to be one of the most viable and easiest ways to curb levels of rural youth
 unemployment if utilized adequately, as can be seen from the Yapasa project (FAO,2019)
( GIZ, 2018)(YAPASA, 2017). Furthermore, Agriculture has the potential to reduce rural
youth unemployment by more than half. However, this is only possible if agriculture is
given the needed attention and a suitable approach is taken.

2. Emerging Issue
Unemployment is defined as the number of people with no jobs in a given settlement
(ILO,2013). The International Labour Organization (considers that the "unemployment
rate conveys the percentage of persons in the labour force who are unemployed".
Therefore, the youth unemployment rate can be regarded as the number of youths in the
youth population that are not employed ( ILO, 2013). In this vein, rural youth
unemployment is the number of youths in rural settlements who are unemployed. It is
estimated that 36.7 % ( 4.8 Million) of the total population in Zambia is between 15 and
35 years, the largest population of young people ever recorded in Zambia's History (
UNFPA,2016). On the other hand, the youth unemployment rate in Zambia is currently at
21.41 per cent, and the country's unemployment rate is at 12. 1. ( Statistica, 2020) (
Zambia statistics Agency, 2019). The population is growing rapidly at 2.8% per year,
partly because of high fertility, resulting in a doubling every 25 years. ( Zambia statistics
Agency, 2019). As more youths enter the working age, more pressure is placed on a need
for more jobs to cater for the rapidly growing population; due to the scarcity of jobs in
Zambia, the levels of unemployment are at increase in most parts, especially in rural
areas. If no proper intervention is put in place, we are likely to have a large youth sector
who are unemployed; hence the poverty gap will continue to increase.

2.1. The Tragedy of rural youth unemployment in Zambia

While rural youth's employment challenges and needs are close to urban youth in many
ways, rural youth support ecosystems are comparatively weaker(Pilgaard, Søren &
Birch-Thomsen, Torben, 2013)(GIF, 2018). This is particularly true in terms of programs
that help the youths develop entrepreneurial and technical skills and access to financial
services, networks, and markets (GIF, 2018). Studies indicate that the rural youths are the
most marginalized as they lack access to several opportunities, including access to proper
education, skills building and many other opportunities to help them get decent jobs
(FAO,2021). This has led to many opting to migrate to urban areas searching for a good
life (GIF,2018). However, this has not yielded results for them because they find the same
problem in urban areas, and they are unable to compete for the limited opportunities with
the urban youths. The bulk of rural youth in Zambia work in the informal economy as
contributors to their families, subsistence farmers, home-based micro-entrepreneurs, or
unskilled jobs( FAO.2021. They typically earn low wages, usually work on a casual or
seasonal basis, and are subjected to hazardous, often exploitative working conditions,
forcing many to migrate to cities ( FAO,2021. Owing to this, rural youth unemployment
continues to increase every year, leading to the ever-increasing poverty rate in rural areas.
If no concrete steps are taken, this may result in more severe problems such as youths
becoming criminals or continuing to migrate to cities, increasing the urban population
and exerting pressure on the Zambian economy.

2.2. Emerging Issue Analysis.

Future Action Model
Emerging Issue Rural Youth Unemployment in Zambia

Emerging Futures - Rural youths Marginalized

- Rural Poverty rate increasing
- Pressure on the Zambian economy
Global responses - BDF program in Rwanda
- Yapasa project in Zambia
- The Agriculture Productivity and Market
Enhancement Project (APMEP) (Zambia)
Community of Initiative - Private sector companies, development
organisations( AFDB, UN, e.t.c
- Donors
Initiative Mode Back to the Field Initiative
- Rural Agricultural development fund
- Industrial development in rural areas
- Specialization by region
- Agricultural training programs ( farmer Field
Schools)
- Contract Based Agriculture

2.3. Key Employment Challenges facing the rural youths in

Zambia
As outlined above, the rural youths are particular victims of unemployment. This is
because they face extra and unique unemployment challenges, which put them in a
more disadvantaged position than their counterpart in the urban areas. Here are some
of the challenges they face;
1) Insufficient access to skills development and education;
Because there are few schools in rural areas, most youths in Zambia end up
not completing their high school education. Most of them fail to get access to
 proper skills which could help them get a decent job (GIF,2018)(SAILA,
2019).

2) Limited access to Resources Such Land.

Most youths in rural areas lack access to resources such as land as it is
reserved for the family or elders. This limits their activities or involvement in
economic and agricultural activities, which can be a source of income and
means of employment ( FAO,2021) GIF,2018).
3) Exclusion from financial services
The rural youths are primarily victims of exclusion from financial services
such as credit, savings or insurance. Most financial institutions are unable to
give loans to the youths due to lack of Collateral. This prevents them from
being economically active and participating in agriculture and other
entrepreneurship ventures, leading to them being unempowered or not having
employment opportunities(GIF,2018).

2.4. Key assumptions and Methodology

All findings presented in this paper were collected from secondary sources. A
thorough review of government reports, research papers, academic journals and
organizations reports was made. The Future Action Model was employed to develop
the possible recommendation and the Back to the field Initiative. The solutions
highlighted in this paper are grounded on researched data. Regarding rural youth
unemployment, it is assumed that the youths in rural areas are economically actively
looking for livelihood and opportunities and are able-bodied to carry out any job.
Finally, a thorough case analysis was done on the Yapsa project to derive some
possible recommendations.

3.Innovations
3.1. Innovative Practices addressing rural youth unemployment
challenges.
1) The Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS)
In response to the rural youth unemployment challenge, The Food Agriculture
organization created the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS)
methodology. This Methodology is an innovative program that teaches and
trains youths in rural areas some entrepreneurial, agricultural and life skills
they need to make a living and become empowered and active citizens of their
communities. The facilitator of the JFFLS program determines the training
content of a JFFLS training based on local demands. JFFLS learners are
taught about agriculture, as well as the JFFLS approach to stability and
adaptability. Over the years, JFFLS has been able to offer contextualized and
 meaningful assistance to more than 25,000 young women and men in more
than 20 countries in Africa ( FAO, 2021)

2) Business Development Fund Program in Rwanda.

The Rwandan government developed the business development fund, which is
a fund focused on supporting the youths with business ideas across the country.
The BDF was aimed at challenging the youths to form groups and submit
business plans to get a chance of accessing loans for business projects and
business mentorship. The program started very well with an estimated 125,000
jobs in 5 years. (Mpakaniye, Dr. Jean Paul, 2017). However, due to the
mismanagement of funds, the BDF program did not result in the expected
results.

3) The Agriculture Productivity and Market Enhancement Project

(APMEP) program,
The Agriculture Productivity and Market Enhancement Project (APMEP) is a
program based in Serenje district of Zambia. It is financed by the Global
Agriculture and Food Security Program under the Ministry of Agriculture in
Zambia. The program aims to promote an integrated agriculture value chain.
APMEP is currently improving irrigation schemes, intensifying agricultural
mechanization, promoting sustainable agriculture, crop diversification, and
enhanced aquaculture and livestock growth in Zambia. Since its inception,
62,000 people have benefitted, and massive jobs have been created (AgriFood
Zambia, 2020).

3.2. Why Agriculture?

Zambia has 42 million hectares of cultivable land, but just 14% of it is cultivated.
Lakes and rivers, for example, are largely untapped opportunities. Zambia's irrigation
capacity is only used 11.8 percent of the time. Given the richness of its
agro-ecological areas, Zambia has a resource endowment for producing various crops,
animals, and fish (UNFPA, 2016). Much of this uncultivated land and the water
bodies are located in rural areas. This shows the great potential of agriculture in
Zambia. Owing to this, if Agriculture can be given the necessary attention it requires,
it can cut down the unemployment rate by nearly half, especially among the youths
and contribute massively to the country's economic growth. However, the Agriculture
Sector continues to face different challenges especially for the farmers in rural areas.
3.3. Challenges facing the youths farmers in Rural Zambia.
Although agriculture poses a huge potential of curbing rural youth unemployment and
boosting the Zambian economy, it is faced with a lot of challenges. Below is a list of
some of the challenges rural youth farmers in Zambia are grappling with.

1) Lacking access to profitable markets.

Research indicates that access to markets is still one of the most dominant factors
for rural farmers (Trevor & Kwenye, 2018). This is mainly due to poor road
infrastructure in rural areas and lack of nearby industries where the rural farmers
can sell their goods at reasonable prices. Owing to this, most rural farmers sell
their crops at low prices to middlemen, which give them little to no gain (MOA,
2016) .

2) Poor Infrastructure
Due to isolated rural areas, most rural farmers continue to face transporting their
products to the market. In the recent past, the government of Zambia has been
investing heavily into road construction, which has dawned some light into the
sector. However, many more challenges persist(Trevor & Kwenye, 2018)(
GIF,2018)(MOA, 2016).

3) Limited access to financial services (Credit, insurance, savings)

There is currently insufficient funding toward the agriculture sector in Zambia.
Most rural people are unable to venture into agriculture as a business because
financial institutions are not willing to give money for agriculture purposes
because of the uncertainties of the sector. Most lending financial institutions are
unwilling to lend money to rural farmers, especially the youths, due to lack of
collateral (Trevor & Kwenye, 2018)( GIF, 2018).

4) Inadequate Access to Inputs

Since 2001, the government of Zambia has implemented the Farmers Input
Support Program( FISP) with the aim of supporting farmers with agricultural
inputs. However, despite the program running for over 20 years now, access to
 farming inputs such as good quality seeds, fertilizers, and machinery remains a
challenge for most rural farmers (SAIRLA, 2019)( FAO,2018).

5) Poor Storage facilities

Most rural people do not have access to good storage facilities to store their
crops/products after harvests. This results in low productivity in the sector
because many farmers would not cultivate on a large scale to avoid loss during
post-harvest handling of crops(Trevor & Kwenye, 2018)(MOA, 2016).

6) Poor Agriculture skills/practices

Most farmers in rural areas face the challenge of lacking adequate agriculture
skills or practices. The majority of them are still using poor techniques such as
disease control(Trevor & Kwenye, 2018)(FAO,2018).

7) Lack of agriculture diversity

The Zambian Agricultural sector is dominated mainly by Maize farmers and few
other cash crops such as cotton. Most of the farmers cultivate maize on a
subsistence basis, not as a business. This has resulted in the nation not being
productive in the sector (MOA, 2016).

3.4. Case Study Analysis (Yapasa project.)

In 2013, the Zambian government partnered with FAO and ILO in a project Called
YAPASA, which the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
funded. The project's main aim was to create decent employment opportunities in
rural areas and support and promote small and medium scale enterprises to ensure
their sustainability (FAO,2019)( YAPASA, 2017). In this project, a business approach
in tackling the problem of unemployment in which collaborations among key players
in the agriculture value chain was strengthened and the youth entrepreneurs in
agriculture were connected to key market players for easy access to quality inputs,
well- structured markets and capacity building. In the end, the Initiative was a huge
success, creating nearly 3000 youth jobs and improving the performance of more than
5000 youth-led enterprises (FAO,2019)( YAPASA, 2017). Therefore, this project
proves the viability of agriculture as a powerful tool in fighting the ever hicking level
of youth unemployment in Zambia. The Yapasa project is one of the projects solving
the problem of youth unemployment in Africa. It has shown that if suitable
approaches can be incorporated in addressing rural youth unemployment, success is
guaranteed.

3.5. Back to the Field Initiative

To address these challenges, the government of Zambia, in partnership with the
private sector companies, should initiate a program called the "Back to the field
initiative". This Initiative is aimed at encouraging the youths to venture into
agriculture as a business in Rural areas. This Initiative is a build-up from the
YAPASA program. It draws on other agricultural innovative practices across Africa,
which have effectively addressed issues of rural youth unemployment.

The Back to the field initiative is set to make agriculture attractive to the rural youths
by ensuring Agriculture is a profitable venture. The Initiative focuses on the
following areas;
● Ensuring access to finances for youth agricultural projects.
● Encouraging youths in rural areas to venture into agribusiness such as commercial
farming and value addition on agricultural products.
● Raising awareness about the value of agriculture among the youths.
● Ensuring agricultural skills building/training.
● Developing industries and structures to facilitate agricultural development in rural
areas
● Ensuring consistent access to profitable markets both within Zambia and beyond.

Building-up on the YAPASA program, the youths in rural areas should be encouraged
to form business enterprises along the lines of Agriculture(YAPASA, 2017) These
enterprises should range from crop production, Animal production, Aquaculture,
Agro-processing, aggregations and marketing. The field initiative should carry out
Specialization by regions where certain crops should be cultivated in given areas.
Each area should have at least one main agro-processing industry, depending on the
main crop grown in the area. These youths should be trained to cultivate certain crops
or rare animals with proven market viability. The program should support agriculture
projects led by the youths in rural areas in soft loans on flexible payments and help
with agriculture skills building. This will make agriculture attractive to the youths and
will in turn help reduce youth unemployment in the country rapidly, thereby
narrowing the poverty gap in rural areas and the nation at large.

3.6. Proposed Recommendations

To ensure the success of the Back to the Field Initiative, the following recommendations
should be considered;
1) Creation of the Rural Youths Agricultural Development fund; In line with the
BDF program in Rwanda, targeted specific funds for the rural youths should be
created. This fund should aim to create capital capacity for development in
agriculture that could reduce poverty and increase employment opportunities. The
funds should be on a loan basis with low interest rates and flexible repayment
requirements over not less than five years. For a group of youths to be considered for
the fund, there should be at least a minimum of 15 participants and a reasonable
gender balance. They should be willing and ready to undergo a 3 Months training for
the business they wish to undertake. For this fund to succeed, there must be
monitoring and evaluation plans by an external government board. This will ensure
that there is no mismanagement of funds by the management as it was with the
Business Development fund in Rwanda where the project did not yield expected
results due to poor management of allocated funds for the project. In addition for this
project to succeed, it should follow through the path taken by the YAPASA project
where the government of Zambia should involve the private sector and other
development agencies in the mobilisation of funds for the project.

2) Development of the Agro-processing industries in Strategic Location in Rural

areas; The Government, in partnership with the private sector, should create
agro-processing industries in rural areas for easy accessibility to the residents. This
will create an available market for the youths engaging in agriculture in rural areas.
This can be done through Public-Private partnerships where industries are set up in
critical areas where particular crops are mainly cultivated.

3) Carry out agricultural skills training

Drawing from the Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS), training should be
carried out in best agricultural practices to ensure the technical know-how and
success of the farming activities( FAO, 2021). Some of the successful students should
become trainers to train more youths. The training should be done using the Farmers
Field Schools approach which trains farmers in groups on the field across various
communities.

4) Agricultural awareness campaigns should be carried out

This can be primarily done in the community by gathering success stories of the Back
to the field Initiative. In addition, Social Media, Radio and Television should also be
used to raise awareness. For example, the Yapasa project has been creating awareness
on the value in agriculture by Publishing success stories of farmers online and on
television( YAPASA, 2019. In this vein, Agricultural awareness among the youths
can be created through Back to the field program on the National Broadcaster Via
Radio or Television in which agriculture talks can be conducted regularly.

5) Contract-based Agriculture should be promoted.

The youth farmers should be encouraged to grow only crops with a viable and ready
market. The farmers should enter into deals with buyers even before they can start
cultivating the crops. This will give them confidence and ensure that not having a
 market for the product is avoided. According to the second Agricultural Policy by the
Zambia Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Post- harvest handling is the big issue
with rural farmers hence it will help to have a readily available market so the products
may not get wanted due poor post harvest handling. As observed from the YAPSA
Project, contract based farming can help boost agricultural prodcutivity YAPASA,
2017).

3.7. Counter Argument to the recommendations.

According to the research conducted by SAIRLA, it was noted policies relating to
Rural youth should look beyond agriculture as a means of reducing rural youth
unemployment. The research suggested promoting skills that can be used within as
well as outside rural settings (SAILA,2019). Whereas this paper does not disagree,
however, it will take no longer time to address the problem of rural youth
unemployment in other sectors than agriculture seeing that agriculture is already part
of the rural youth livelihood.

Furthermore, other possible counter-arguments to implementing the Back To The

Field Initiative could be that the Initiative is too broad and there may not be adequate
funding to sponsor the Initiative. This is possible if the project is not well
implemented. Some of the measures in place for the Back the field initiative is the use
of public, and private partnerships in which both the government and private sector
will invest in key projects such as the development of agro-processing industries. To
guarantee the smooth execution of the project, the Back to the Field Initiative will
have a board responsible for the Initiative. The Board will ensure that agricultural
awareness among the youths is carried out and funds are mobilized. It will also ensure
there is a readily available market for agricultural products. In addition, to cater for
the needed funds, the government should increase funding going to the agricultural
sector with an emphasis on agricultural development in the rural areas.

4. Conclusion
Rural Youth unemployment is a broad challenge that requires a multi-sectoral approach in
dealing with it. This is because many factors contribute to rural youth unemployment
ranging from lack of access to finances, lack of training, and lack of resources such as land.
The Back to the field initiative is vital because it tackles rural youth unemployment from
different sides and brings together various stakeholders from the public to the private
sectors. However, for the Initiative to come to life, the first step should be awareness
creating and mobilizing of required resources. This can be done by forming a separate board
known as Back To The Field Board, which can be under the ministry of youths and
agriculture in Zambia. The Board can be in charge of raising awareness on the value of
agriculture and mobilizing funds. To be feasible and practical, the government should
partner with the private sector and other development organizations in carrying out the
endeavour. If properly carried out, this board will ensure the availability of funds and
resources to implement the program. Suppose the Back to the field initiative is
well-executed there is a possibility of reducing rural youth unemployment by more than half
within a few years hence playing a significant role in poverty alleviation and improving the
livelihood of the youths in rural areas in Zambia.
5. References

1. UNFPA (2016). Zambia’s Young People and the Road to 2030. [online] UNFPA
Zambia
https://zambia.unfpa.org/en/news/zambia%E2%80%99s-young-people-and-road20
30.
2. ZAMBIA STATISTICS AGENCY. (2019). Labour Force Survey Report 2019 First
Quarter.https://www.zamstats.gov.zm/phocadownload/Labour/Labour%20Force%2
0Surv ey%20Q1%20-%202019.pdf
3. CTA. (2018). Promoting agricultural entrepreneurship among rural youth in
Zambia.
Www.cta.int.https://www.cta.int/en/project/promoting-agricultural-entrepreneurshi
p-amo ng-rural-youth-in-zambia-sid06a445ee6-e775-49fb-ac94-260231f374c2

4. Pilgaard, Søren & Birch-Thomsen, Torben. (2013). Should I stay or should I go?
Rural youth employment in Uganda and Zambia. International Development
Planning Review. 35. 175-201. 10.3828/idpr.2013.12.
5. Trevor, S., & Kwenye, J. M. (2018). Rural Youth Participation in Agriculture in
Zambia. Journal of Agricultural Extension, 22(2). https://doi.org/10.4314/jae.v22i2.5

6. FAO. (2018). Yapasa: Developing youth-led enterprises in rural areas of Zambia |

Decent Rural Employment | Продовольственная и сельскохозяйственная
организация Объединенных Наций. Www.fao.org.
http://www.fao.org/rural-employment/resources/detail/ru/c/1157805/
7. FAO. (2021). Youth employment | Decent Rural Employment | Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations. Www.fao.org.
http://www.fao.org/rural-employment/work-areas/youth-employment/en/

8. GIF. (2020). WHAT WORKS IN RURAL YOUTH EMPLOYMENT PROMOTION?

Good practices and lessons from GIZ Programmes on rural youth employment
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK.
https://www.giz.de/en/downloads/giz2020_eng_employment_promotion.pdf
9. AgriFood Zambia. (2020). Agriculture project helps Zambian youth turn away from
copper, live off the land | AgriFood Zambia. Https://Agrifood-Zambia.com/.
https://agrifood-zambia.com/2020/07/22/agriculture-project-helps-zambian-youth-tu
rn-away-from-copper-live-off-the-land/
10. FAO. (2021). Skills development | Decent Rural Employment | Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations. Www.fao.org.
http://www.fao.org/rural-employment/work-areas/youth-employment/skills-develop
ment/en/
11. Mpakaniye, Dr Jean Paul (2017) The Role of Business Development Funds (BDF) in
Creating Employment for the Youth in Rwanda. Available at SSRN:
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3052140 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3052140

12. Sustainabledevelopment.un.org. (2021)

https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/dsd/dsd_aofw_ni/ni_pdfs/Natio
nalReports/zambia/ZambiaCSD16-17_full_report.pdf

13. MOA (2016) Second National Agricultural Policy, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry
of Fisheries and Livestock, Lusaka.http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/zam183104.pdf

14. SAIRLA. (2019). The role of youth in agricultural intensification in Zambia At a glance.
https://sairla-africa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/SAIRLA_Lund-Zambia-youth-resea
rch-brief_FINAL.pdf