But now, certain parts of the land have been restored. Cultures are starting to flourish and the bees are buzzing once again.
People responsible for this change are a group of melines – former taxi and minors, people who have barely completed high school and some higher education diplomas. The unifying factor? Most have young people on their side.
“” There is life beyond mining [but] We all grew up with the mentality that Diamond is the only solution“Said Sahr Fallah, Chairman of the Kono Youth Council.
More than 44% of 1.3 billion people aged 15 to 24 are employed in agrifood systems. However, this group often does not have the same access to resources as older generations. In addition, they are sidelined in conversations that could change this systemic exclusion.
Young men work on a diamond extraction site near Koidu, Sierra Leone. (deposit)
“” Most of the time, what we see is that young people are included in political processes, but it’s a bit tokenist. They do not have the impression that their voice really counts, “said Lauren Phillips, deputy director of the organization of food and agriculture (Fao).
Decent work = economic growth
THE High -level political forum On sustainable development in New York was summoned this week and next, to discuss progress – or its absence – to the whole agreed world Sustainable development objectives (ODD), one of which guarantees decent work for all.
Despite this commitment, more than half of the world workforce remains in informal employment, according to the secretary general report on the SDGs released Monday. This means that they do not have adequate social or legal protections.
“” Dethered work must be at the heart of macroeconomic planning, climate and diesel transitions and social recovery strategies“Said Sangheon Lee, director of employment policy at the International Labor Organization (Ilo).
Do not ignore young people
Like other vulnerable groups, young people face unique challenges in the food sector. More specifically, they often lack land rights and find it difficult to act collectively to protect their interests.
“If you do not look at the data with an age or sex objective, you actually miss a part of the story,” said Ms. Phillips.
Among these assets are terrestrial titles – which the elderly can be reluctant to transmit due to insufficient social protections. Young people are also less able to access the credit so that they can invest in themselves and their families.
Betty Seray Sam, one of Kono’s young farmers, said her family never came to her when they were going through a crisis – they knew she had no money and a child to support.
Young farmers load tomatoes on trucks in Nubaria, Egypt.
But now, thanks to an agricultural job in Kono, she can support her family in times of crisis.
“” This project had a corrugated effect for young people in terms of not only improving their livelihoods, but also means of subsistence of their families“Said Abdul Munu, president of Mabunduku, an organization of community farmer in Kono.
Bee
Providing training to young people in Agrifood systems is absolutely essential to ensure that they can practice sustainable agriculture.
In Chegutu, Zimbabwe,, Fao helped establish schools of bee farmers where young people learn to support the apiaries through practical training activities.
“The idea is that one of the apiaries can be transformed into a classroom where young people from different parts of a neighborhood can come as a school,” said Barnabas Mawire, specialist in natural resources at FAO.
This training has helped support young local beekeepers to go beyond the production of local honey and on a small scale to a full-fledged business model which has the potential not only to fight poverty, but to create local wealth.
Evelyn Mutuda, the young representative of entrepreneurs in Chegutu, aspires to plant jacaranda who, according to her, will improve the quality of bees honey and allow beekeepers to export beyond local markets.
“We want to maximize all the profits so that we can become better and larger,” said Ms. Mutuda.
From Facebook to Tiktok
Being able to train work associations is one of the key factors for decent work. This type of collective action is even more important for young people in Agrifood who often do not have the share capital to adopt a real change in policy.
“Young people are just starting, linking their groups but also with people outside their group. These obligations are important … because there is power in number, “said Ms. Phillips.
She also noted that young people form these links on geographic distances, often using technology. Agricultural influencers on Instagram and Tiktok, for example, are increasingly shaping conversations in the sector.
Ms. Phillips also noted that it was important to consider collective action for youth as intergenerational.
“Although the report focuses on young people, it does not ignore the fact that young people live in families … There are many things that speak of the need for solidarity between generations,” said Ms. Phillips.
Young optimism
The next generation will be the food keepers we eat, so integrating them into this system is now essential for food safety and future sustainability.
“” Many young people integrate tradition into innovation, creating sustainability and community resilience“Said Venio Nala Ardisa, a representative of young people in the Aboriginal peoples in Asia, during an online parallel event during the high -level forum.
Angeline Manhanzva, one of the beekeepers of Chegutu, said that the opportunity to become a beekeeper has changed her life. One day, she dreams of having her own bee farm.
“I will be an elderly person who has so much wealth and who will be able to buy his own large land to keep my hives and treat my own honey.”
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
