Category: Climate Change

Implications of Climate Change on Rural Youth

Source: State of Israel Flickr

There are very few studies that highlight the impacts of climate change on rural youth. On the one end, this group tends to be submerged in the gender discussions, which while relevant, tend to overlook aspects that are specific to the social group. Hence, the limited studies on the implications of climate change on rural youth.

There is growing evidence that indicates changes in natural systems, these include  enlargements and increase in glacial lakes, changes in arctic ecosystems and increased discharge in glaciers and snow-fed rivers (IPCC,2014). The impacts of these changes will be felt throughout the natural and human systems. It is anticipated that these will affect agricultural systems on which most livelihoods are dependent on.

Agriculture and rural non-farm based activities have been deemed as harnessing untapped potential to absorb the millions looking for employment, particularly in regions with land scarcity issues (White, 2012). However, employment in agriculture in the developing regions of Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean is declining for both young and adult workers (FAO, 2010a). This is mostly a result of low agricultural productivity that is due to unfavourable agro-ecological conditions, poor agricultural technologies, poor market access and lack of investment capital (FAO, 2010a). These conditions do not provide a favourable environment for rural youth to explore agriculture as a potential option for employment. With young people facing challenges of unemployment and underemployment, increased climate variability could result in  agriculture as potential livelihood option  becoming obsolete.

What could youth- inclusive transformation entail?

Highlights on what a youth-inclusive transformation could entail:

      •  Addressing systematic challenges that constrain agricultural productivity growth – in doing so  opportunities to engage social groups esp. young people could emerge
      • Harnessing and maximizing strengths that young people may bring to the transformation process such as their affinity to use and engage in emerging technologies
      • Addressing specific institutional and systematic challenges that limit young people from accessing resources
      • Empowering youth to participate in the conversation to shape the solutions that are being addressed, to ensure their vision is integrated in the decision-making process
      • The Youth-livelihoods program from the Mastercard foundation highlihgted the holistic approach that is centred on addressing youth challenges while also integrating soft and hard skills and financial literacy.
      • Senegal Delegation outlined some funds that have been allocated creating an enabling environment for youth.

Watch this interesting discussion on youth-inclusive transformation and what other organisations are doing to engage young people.

Solid Research for Solid Programming

The exciting thing about working at IFAD is that there is always something exciting happening. Which provides an opportunity to learn and network.

Last week our division- Environment, Climate, Gender and Social Inclusion (ECG) hosted a change lecture titled: “Solid research for solid programming”. The lecture was co-organized with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the guests were:

Peter Läderach holds an Msc in Geography and a PhD in Tropical Agriculture. Peter is currently the theme leader for Climate Change at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Peter’s passion is conducting research that leads to visible impacts on the ground, that is why his research supports private sector, NGO’s, governments and multinational agencies to take evidence-based decisions and deliver impact on the ground.

Le Nghiem is a research associate in the field of ecosystem services and climate information services  Asia office in Hanoi, Vietnam. Le holds an MSc from the National University of Singapore and has broad research experience in the fields of climate risk vulnerability assessment in rural landscape, ecosystem services modelling, and sustainable consumption. She has authored 10 research papers in peer reviewed journals.

The lecture was on determining how Agriculture Research for Development (AR4D) efforts effectively support IFAD’s programming needs.

What stood out for me in the lecture were the strategies used to engage with the private sector, these included:

  1. Development of new enterprises/support to start-up businesses to be run by capable individuals or farmer groups in the community
  2. The enhancement of existing micro-small-medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)
  3. Leverage investment of non-MSMEs
  4. Leverage resources from microfinance institutions (MFIs) and Commercial banks

It is interesting how IFAD investments plays a role in helping large private corporations direct their investments in a way that enhances inclusive development of rural communities. These engagement strategies are also helpful in defining strategies to engage rural communities.  The study was  published in The Business Advantage which provides further details on the findings.