Agriculture contributes heavily to the GDP of many African countries, and it employs more than half of the rural population across the continent. Namibia is no exception. Despite the positive effect of agriculture across the continent, the sector remains unattractive to young people. Many young Africans move to urban areas, and have no interest in taking up agriculture as a source of livelihood.
The rural population, comprising mostly smallholder farmers, practise subsistence farming. Many of these farmers are faced with the problem of low productivity, caused by a combination of adverse climatic conditions and harmful farm practices. Such a mode of farming has been discouraging to young people, as they merely see it as a hand-to-mouth scenario that has no real potential of becoming a large enterprise.
This begs the question: who is to blame here? Are those already in the sector not making it attractive enough for the youth to follow suit? Why do many successful farmers not have their children also take up agriculture as a business, but instead push them into other directions?
The problem here is often that some experienced farmers themselves do not see farming as a business, and simply do it for prestige, or out of habit passed down from generation to generation. This will surely not encourage the youth – who are by nature inquisitive people who are also easily bored by mundane routines – to join the sector as producers. Also, financial institutions, with a few exceptions, are not keen to lend a helping hand to young people intending to go into full-time farming. This is so as many lack needed securities against such loans. It is a terrible Catch-22 for the youth, and it appears to be neither here nor there for them in the quest to be farmers.
We owe it to them to shine a light on the potential that this massive sector has. But it does not stop there; let us hold their hands along the path so that we pull them right up when they stumble and fall, for they will indeed fall along the path. Let us adopt a proactive approach on the matter, and avoid relegating the youth to menial jobs that carry less responsibility. We are killing their true potential that way.
How many times have we not looked down on the youth around us, and decided all they are good for is loitering on the streets, and that they take nothing seriously? Such an attitude would not help any of us. Instead, let us encourage them by pulling them closer to the action.
It is, however, not all a lost cause, as innovators have begun to rely on technology such as artificial intelligence, remote sensing, geographic information software, drone technology and precision technology to provide an accurate measure of rainfall, farm size and productivity potential, amongst others. Despite this potential of technology to change Africa’s agricultural sector, smallholder farmers are faced with the challenge of incorporating technology into their agricultural practices.
Research suggests that efforts geared towards providing financial capital, capacity-building and access to land will spur the youths’ interest in agriculture. Smallholder farmers will embrace technology if their capacity is developed and there is affordability in the cost of adopting technology. Let us give them a chance.