UN body urges youth to go into agri

MANILA, Philippines - Making the agriculture industry appealing to the younger generation is one of the many ways to ensure food security in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a United Nations (UN) agency.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of UN aimed at eradicating rural poverty in developing countries, said attracting the youth to be part of the farming industry is a driver for true transformation of the rural areas.

There are approximately 700 million youth in Asia-Pacific or around 17 percent of the total population. About 600 million young new laborers enter the market yearly but only 200 million jobs are available.

“We need to give the young people the opportunity to be interested in agriculture. Rural space is a productive space, if used well and combined with technology, that can generate income,” IFAD Asia-Pacific director Honnae Kim said.

Data showed 75 percent of the world’s poorest people or 1.4 billion live in rural areas and depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihoods.

“We need to modernize agriculture as technology gives infinite opportunities. The bottom line is we should continue to innovate, empower and provide the young ones space for them to succeed in agriculture,” she added.

Meanwhile, Asian Farmers’ Association secretary general Estrella Penunia emphasized that food should be produced in a way that it reduces its harm to the environment and promotes biodiversity.

Despite economies evolving from low to middle income, the Asian Development Bank said new challenges in the Asia-Pacific will arise in terms of production and access to nutritious and safe food.

Total population of the region is likely to increase to 5.2 billion by 2050 requiring more to feed the additional population.

“We also have to make farmers more significant actors and primers in agriculture development,” Asian Farmers’ Association secretary general Estrella Penunia said.