FAO advocates policies on employment for rural youth

 

21st January 2011

Food and Agricultural Organisation

 

The Food and Agricultural Organisation has called on Tanzania to seriously implement policies which support rural employment, specifically in agriculture, for equitable and sustainable livelihood in order to eliminate acute youth rural-urban migration.

FAO Country Representative Louise Setshwayo said this on Wednesday in Dar es Salaam at the official launching of a workshop on Food and Agriculture.

Setshwayo said the government, through the project, has to implement agriculture since it will boost rural development and make youths employ themselves.

“As a large segment of manpower resides in rural areas, it is of paramount importance to create work opportunities there through empowering youths,” he said.

The representative said further that many youths in rural areas were facing ruthless life which forces them to migrate to urban areas.

“Some 300 million youths work worldwide and only earn less than USD 2 a day,” said Setshwayo.

She added such youths in rural areas are employed in the informal sector and in unpaid family works especially in agriculture.

Speaking on behalf of the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, director of research and development in the ministry, Fidelis Myaka, said Tanzania directs part of its resources to support rural development in agriculture so as to alleviate rural poverty.

“The government uses its resources to achieve quality agriculture through conducive environment, capacity building of farmers and facilitate private sectors to support the rural farming societies,” said Myaka

He analyzed critical challenges facing rural development such as overdependence on rain-fed agriculture, poor storage, communication and transport facilities, low investment in agriculture and a low level of mechanisation.

Others are low level technology which leads to the use of poor seeds, and low budget allocation.

Meanwhile, Monika Percic from FAO headquarters in Rome said that the project took off this month and will continue up to December 2013.

She said the project would be implemented through government support in implementing its agricultural policies.