Policy Brief No. 07 of 2022-2023 on Supporting Youth Involvement in Climate Smart Agriculture

Abstract

Youth participation in agriculture has been declining over the years in Kenya. Youth labour force in agriculture in 1995 was 60.72%. Twenty-five years later, it has declined to 28.47% in 2020.1 Despite agriculture being central to addressing youth unemployment, the youth are increasingly turning away from agriculture to seek for what they believe to be profitable and business-focused careers. This decline in youth participation is a major concern because the youth can be a resource in agriculture by replacing the aging farmers in the sector.2 Some of the factors that have contributed to the decline in their participation in agriculture include minimal to no access to data and information on climatesmart agriculture (CSA), negative attitude towards agriculture, limited access to land, inadequate climatesmart technological capacity and knowledge to apply technology appropriately in CSA, and financial constraints. Poor coordination among institutions mandated with implementation of policies and programmes in agriculture are other impediments for participation of the youth in climate-smart agriculture. Therefore, tapping the youth potential is critical for climate-smart agriculture, which is a transformative approach to agricultural production. The youth are a potential driving force of climate-smart agriculture due to their innovativeness and energy.