This conference, co-hosted by the Future Agricultures Consortium and the Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER), aims to critically examine:

• How young people engage with the agri-food sector in Africa as producers, entrepreneurs, employees, consumers and citizens
• Changes in the agri-food sector and what this means for young people
• The implications for young people of alternative policy approaches to the development of the agri-food sector.

The conference runs from 19-21 March in Accra, Ghana. Updates, media and news from the event will be posted on the section of this website dedicated to the conference.

Visit the Young People, Farming and Food conference mini-site

We're delighted to announce the winners of our Africa-wide journalism competition on young people, farming and food. The competition was held in the run-up to our Young People, Farming and Food conference in Ghana, 19-21 March 2012.

We had over 40 submissions to the competition. The panel was all agreed in the winning entries according to the following criteria:

1. Creative angle; 2 Concise; 3. Style; 4. Voices/quotes used including young people.

The winners and runners-up are listed below, followed by links to download the print entries and listen to the audio.

Question: Which does not belong to this series? *

1. Agriculture
2. Young people
3. Evidence
4. Policy

Are young people’s life aspirations and the vision of a dynamic agricultural sector in conflict?

Policy interest in the ‘young people – agriculture nexus’ in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), when it is evident, is framed by a combination of narratives relating to: food security and the importance of agriculture to the national economy; modernisation of the agricultural sector; ageing of the farm population; young people as ‘the nation’s future’; young people’s changing life aspirations; unemployment and underemployment; increased vulnerability of young people associated with rural – urban migration (e.g. STDs, drugs, crime); and the poor living conditions and employment prospects that rural young people encounter when they migrate to urban.

A number of framing assumptions can be identified including: Read more...