Half of young people in East Africa are unemployed – can agriculture offer a solution?

By Winnifred Mailu, Head of Thematic Expertise 

70% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa is under 30 years old, which presents great opportunities for growth and innovation. It also presents great risks if we fail to ensure they have good life chances. Young people have a right not only to good health, nutrition and education, but opportunities for independence and decent work. 

More than half the young people in East Africa aged 15-35 are unemployed. The rate is even higher amongst young women in rural areas (up to 66%).

Agriculture is one of the biggest employers in East Africa. However, when I was at school in Kenya, the punishment for bad behaviour in class was to “go and do farm work”. You would be given the worst jobs of cleaning out the cow or goat pens. Similar experiences mean that for many young East Africans farm work has little appeal.

As most young people don’t own land, farming doesn’t feel like an investment in their futures. However, there are huge opportunities for young people to make their mark in agriculture, using new skills to offer much needed inputs or services that are essential to a thriving economy.

The African Union defines ‘youth’ as extending from age 15 up to 35. There are important reasons why this higher age limit is relevant. 

A young person in their early 30s may still be in education in East Africa – in university, or vocational training - and living with their parents. Young people’s access to education, which is such an important part of their transition to independent life, may have been significantly disrupted by their families’ inability to pay for the cost of schooling, as well as by family responsibilities, disease, or conflict. 

As a result, in 2020, more than a third of young East Africans (37% ) had no education, or incomplete primary education. Of the 14% who completed upper secondary or tertiary education, many are still completely unprepared for the world of work. 

Most countries in our region inherited education systems which are strongly biased towards theoretical curriculums. There is very little emphasis on practical application, or development of skills that prepare them for later life. 

In fact, figures show that unemployment tends to be higher amongst well-educated young people. In Rwanda, 62% of young people with university degrees were unemployed, compared with 51% who had only primary education.

We set up and support apprenticeship placements in our youth-focused programmes, offering practical training in the work that young people want to get into, such as engineering and repairs, tailoring, and agri-businesses.

We are also currently working with Ibanda University in Uganda to influence curriculum development and job opportunities for 50,000 young people in the dairy sector. A similar project will include young people in fruit value chains in the Kenyan coastal region.

The risks if we fail to engage with our growing population of young people are very real. And they go deeper than the generalised dangers of a population drift from rural areas to towns and cities. 

We are seeing young people being actively trafficked from rural areas to cities, and from one country to a neighbouring country, in the hopes of better work opportunities. Investing in rural economies is one way in which we can avoid large-scale unemployment and exploitation of young people. 

We are already receiving funding that acknowledges the value of our work in this area, and we will continue to tailor the design of our programmes and improve our data-gathering and reporting to meet this need.

We are working hard to ensure young people are included and championed in our projects. For example, 7,566 young people in Uganda have been given training on how to make, save and re-invest money into their own small businesses, in the Sustainable Outcomes for Children and Youth project. This includes: 

• farming 
• artisanal skills 
• joining savings groups
• entrepreneurship

In Burundi, 57% of young people are now earning an income as part of our Youth Enterprise & Agribusiness Stimulation project. The figure has increased from 0% when the project began.