‘Agribusiness key to solving youth unemployment in Africa’

Agribusiness could provide a remedy to the problem of youth employment if the youth are given opportunity to utilise land.

According to Edson Mpyisi, coordinator of enable youth programme at the African Development Bank (AfDB,) agriculture can offer decent jobs to the continent’s young people.

Mpyisi was speaking at Ministerial Dialogue of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa currently underway in Ethiopia capital, Addis Ababa.

He said:  “Agriculture on the continent is expected to be a $ 1 trillion value business by 2030.

“Whichever sector you are working in, whatever policies and strategies you have, you cannot leave the youth out of this.”

Mpyisi explained that creating decent jobs of many of youths, who failed to get an employment several years after graduation, should be a top priority of African governments.

According to AfDB, out of 11 million young people entering the job market in Africa every year, only 3 million end up in formal jobs and all do not have quality jobs.

Today, about 420 million African young people are between 15-35 years of age, data shows.

The 2nd biennial Conference on Land Policy in Africa opened in Addis Ababa Tuesday with the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) all pledging to do more to support African governments to develop robust policies that will support Africa’s economic and social transformation through the optimum use of her land and natural resources.

Speaking when opening the conference, United Nations Economic Commission (Uneca) for Africa deputy executive secretary, Abdalla Hamdok said the commission remains committed to contributing to the implementation of the African Union Agenda on land as demonstrated by its support through the hosting of the Land Policy Initiative (LPI), which has  transitioned to the African Land Policy Center (ALPC).

“We commit to provide support to AU Agenda on land including hosting the ALPC. The main purpose of the outfit is to enable the use of land to lend impetus to the process of African development,” he said.

The conference convened by ALPC, is running under the theme: “The Africa We Want: Achieving socioeconomic transformation through inclusive and equitable access to land by the youth”, and will end today (Friday).