International Youth Day, 2014

Young people are integral to all facets of development but are often side-lined or under-equipped to make maximum contributions to national development. A 2012 youth survey report by the National Bureau of Statistics also showed that 54% of Nigerian youths were unemployed.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), through Propcom Mai-karfi, is funding a study which investigates strategies through which the Nigerian government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) can be used as a mechanism to create jobs for youth.  The study will attempt to answer questions such as:  (i) what is the potential of the agricultural sector to generate employment, and of what type for the Nigerian youth; (ii) what types of jobs can be created and which value chains will generate these jobs?; (iii) what are the links between agricultural technology adoption and job creation that can be exploited?;   (iv) how does education policy respond to the skills needed to make the youth employable in the agricultural sector?;  (v) what are the relative roles of the private and public sectors in generating these jobs?; and  (vi) what job-creation lessons can Nigeria learn from the experiences of other developing countries that have transformed their agricultural sectors?

This research is being carried out by International Food Policy Research Institute’s Nigeria Strategy Support Program (IFPRI-NSSP) and is expected to influence better policy design to create jobs for youth and women in Nigeria’s agricultural sector. Happy International Youth Day everyone!