Youth Involvement in the New Agriculture

Possible paths to youth involvement in the New Agriculture
(this was part of a longer document that reviewed successful programs worldwide)

The successful initiatives described in an earlier section highlight the importance of vertically and horizontally integrated programmes. A regional effort led by National Training Institutions such as HEART Trust in Jamaica and the National Training Agency in Trinidad/Tobago should showcase the range of opportunities in the sector. These organisations have developed job-indexed performance criteria for a number of positions in the sector. A key feature would be the possibility of paid apprenticeships (level 1 in the skills hierarchy see Appendix III) to facilitate seamless movement through the various skills levels. As documented elsewhere in this report, youth involvement must be coordinated, sustained and intrinsically linked to other sectoral policies in education, health, social services, environment, youth empowerment and trade.

Career possibilities can be demonstrated in

1. Environmental Stabilization – career paths in landscaping are popular in several countries. Traditional landscaping for aesthetic appeal in and around private homes, office complexes and hotels will be augmented by “soft engineering” solutions. Increasingly, appropriate vegetation is being used to stabilize slopes contiguous with roadways and other infrastructural works. The Fondes Amandes based youths in Trinidad have been able to promote reforestation in the Northern Range. The increased interest in Agro-Tourism necessitates a more functional and aesthetically appealing farm layout. Accessibility and the reduction of possible intra and inter-farm cross contamination will become more important. Skilled professionals will be needed to redesign and maintain dual-purpose farms. The incorporation of outdoor museums and the use of historically significant plants e.g. Breadfruit in St Vincent and the Grenadines, nutmeg in Grenada and pineapple in Antigua and Barbuda will augment the tourism appeal..

2. State-supported Cooperative Contract Farms based on Fairtrade type protocols. Primary production efforts would require substantial holdings of twenty acres or more; farms of that size are traditionally beyond the individual means of youth. Apart from expected economies of scale there are additional reasons for the cooperative approach

a) Stability, shareholder involvement and business focus occasioned by the incorporation of companies limited by shares
b) Focused intervention by service providers and mentors
c) Social impact provisos contingent on conforming with environmental and production standards
d) Integration of disaster mitigation measures in light of the significant climate variability predicted to ensue for several decades
e) Flexibility in terms of the product and production mix given the ongoing advances in the use of modified (genetically and otherwise) biomaterial.
f) Production based on contracts geared at satisfying State demand eg. School Nutrition Programmes, Health Institutions, Social Assistance Programmes (cf. Farmstands)

3. Specialty Production units catering to rising demand for non-traditional products such as nutraceuticals , pharmaceuticals, exotic spices, herb trays for restaurants/hotels and cruise ships. Organic “Smallholder Group Certification” products for specific high-end markets within the Caribbean. Fully integrated farms with agro-tourism capabilities including eco-resorts based on complete nutrient recycling. Integrated farms to include aquaculture ponds and wildlife farming in closed nutrient cycles with minimal external inputs in aesthetically appealing layout. Young people must be apprised of opportunities in bioremediation at the more qualified end of the skills spectrum.
4. Agro Services Units specializing in marketing inclusive of branding, product-specific transportation (land, sea and air), quality-enhancing packaging, agro-processing services for client production units, quality control testing, dehydration, Commercialization of Biotechnological products, innovation and Intellectual Property monitoring, product licensing, communication and convenience
5. The widest scope for individual career paths is in the provision of professional services inclusive of advisory, certification, traceability, diagnosis and pest management, insurance and inventory management.


A review of some of the existing Youth Policy documents lays bare the fact that agriculture is not considered a priority item. The Youth Policies of Trinidad/Tobago and Antigua/Barbuda are silent on Agriculture, Nutrition and Food. The TT policy document while silent on agriculture, mentions crime 15 times, violence 13 times, development 171 times, education 32 times and health 21 times. Official agriculture policy documents list general concerns about youth involvement and in many cases identify stand-alone initiatives such as land distribution, 4H support and State-sponsored training courses. Youth involvement requires policy initiatives that are, at the barest minimum, national in scope. Any policy commitment would have to be economy-wide given the range of issues that impact on, and are affected by, agriculture

The reportedly successful initiatives with respect to youth involvement in agriculture, as reviewed for this report, and borne out by personal experience, indicate common essential components. The TEMPLATE involves
T Training
E Employment
M Mentoring
P Promotion
L Linkages
A Affordability
T Tenacity
E Evaluation

The four programmes reviewed for this report clearly show the importance of training. Youth by definition underscores low levels of actual experience, even when appropriately educated. Job specific instruction is necessary for youths to be able to meet the performance criteria associated with particular tasks. Employment provides the young adults with a means of support and the wherewithal to anticipate self-sufficiency. At the UN Millennium Summit, priority was given to the employability of youth through entrepreneurship as a way to generate employment opportunities. 189 UN Member States agreed to submit National Youth Plans to the UN by July 2005, stating how they will develop youth employment. Mentoring has been described as the major determinant of success for a number of programmes including the Barbados Youth Business Trust and the Youth Window programme in Trinidad.

The lack of interest in agriculture-related careers is fuelled by a genuine ignorance of the range of opportunities in the sector, as opposed to the stereotype of drudgery and low returns on investment. The sector and the attendant career opportunities have to be tied to core values of today’s youth. Successful extra-regional programmes have latched on to role models, celebrities and others manifesting lifestyles that are in sync with youthful expectations. These promotions have been realistic and truthful as they were able to show the interconnectedness with other more high-profile sectors like Trade, Manufacturing, Tourism, Sport and Finance. Linkages are key, whether in terms of a supportive environment, source of inputs or sink for the consumption of goods and services. Farmstand, 4H and the GARD Centre all rely on inter-sectoral links to provide a nurturing environment for successful youth projects

Young adults are usually starting their careers without the benefit of accumulated resources, as such, the financial instruments should be affordable. Credit and other funding mechanisms must be in sync with the revenue generating potential of the enterprise. Mentors and technical/financial advisors are indispensable in the establishment phase of most enterprises.

Youth involvement in agriculture cannot be sustained by a State, or Donor-funded, project approach. There must be well-publicized, stakeholder-generated policies from which programmes are crafted. The successful initiatives are characterized by a level of tenacity that comes from a commitment to achieve the vision as set out in the programme rationale. The type of intervention being recommended must be structured in such a way that there are clear, definable qualitative and quantitative mileposts. During the conceptualization phase parallel evaluation mechanisms must be incorporated. A well thought out, executable programme for youth involvement in agriculture must be managed amidst sensitivity to the progress of the beneficiaries. Several of the initiatives in the Caribbean have determinable financial auditing systems but no prominent mechanism to measure overall progress.

A plausible path to youth involvement in agriculture within the Caribbean is the use of the TEMPLATE. Programmes can be developed around single or multiple activities from the five broad categories identified in the section on creating demand for youth involvement. The programme could be focused on environmental stabilization, cooperative contract farming, specialty production, agro-services or professional services.

The participants at the “Leadership Development and Policy Integration for Youth in Agriculture” workshop held in St Kitts on October 3-4, 2005, at which the draft version of this report was presented, were invited to use the preceding points as the platform for youth-focused policy recommendations at the regional and national level. The participants as part of their group reports also submitted recommendations with regard to the “Jagdeo Initiative”. Those recommendations were subsequently formally presented to the Regional Agriculture Ministers and other officials attending the Alliance meeting on October 5, 2005.