Online discussion: Partnerships, innovations and financing for youth in climate-smart agriculture

23 April-21 May 2018. The CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network (CSAYN) are organizing an online discussion on partnerships, innovations and financing opportunities available for young people in Africa to adopt CSA. 

The discussion will also highlight the role of mentorship, training and share cases of successful young farmers as role models. 

The discussion runs from 23 April to 21 May 2018, and emerging issues will be shared by Divine Ntiokam, Founder and Managing Director of CSAYN, during the Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Summit on 15 and 16 May in Nairobi, Kenya.

Guiding questions for the discussion:

1. Week 1: What innovative ways can be employed to make climate-smart agriculture more attractive to the youth? This will include sharing of successful case studies involving the youth.
2. Week 2: How do partnerships affect and influence climate-smart agriculture on the continent? Give practical examples.
3. Week 3: What mechanisms are available for climate-smart agriculture financing? And, are youth able to access these finances?
4. Week 4: What are the key recommendations for donors, policymakers, researchers, development workers and other stakeholders to engage youth in Africa in CSA?

Please register to take part in the discussion – it takes only a minute!

Background:
Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s youngest population and is home to over 200 million young people.

Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is gaining popularity as a concept where agriculture, forestry and fisheries become part of the solution to climate change rather than the problem. This means using resources more efficiently, taking greater care of the surrounding environment and planting trees and crops that can ensure the land copes better with extreme changes in weather.Sustainable and efficient livestock management systems are also a key component of CSA.

There is a need to make climate-smart agriculture activities attractive and accessible to the youth. 

• This means exploring and introducing more business and market-oriented approaches to agriculture for youth engagement in the sector, as well as making the agricultural sector a more productive and attractive profession. 
• The government, the private sector, and development partners need to play a central role in the development of CSA technologies, especially in creating new employment opportunities for young people, nurturing linkages between education and business, and improving access to markets, financial services and innovation, as well as in the transfer of technology and skills. 
• Existing case studies on CSA must be documented and shared for the benefit of the youth. Regional platforms and other awareness mechanisms must be created to increase the uptake of CSA initiatives by the youth.

Partners: Climate Smart Agriculture Youth Network (CSAYN), CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Global Alliance on Climate Smart-Agriculture (GACSA), the Technical Center for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation (CTA), African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services (AFAAS), ICCO Cooperation and AgriProfocus.