Landscapes of opportunity: Patterns of young people’s engagement with the rural economy in sub-Saharan Africa

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cg.authorship.typesCGIAR single centreen
cg.contributor.affiliationInternational Food Policy Research Instituteen
cg.contributor.crpMaize
cg.contributor.donorInternational Fund for Agricultural Developmenten
cg.coverage.regionSub-Saharan Africa
cg.coverage.regionAfrica
cg.creator.identifierKibrom Abay: 0000-0003-1451-2421
cg.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2020.1808195en
cg.identifier.projectIFPRI - Development Strategy and Governance Division
cg.identifier.publicationRankB
cg.isijournalISI Journalen
cg.issn0022-0388en
cg.issue4en
cg.journalJournal of Development Studiesen
cg.reviewStatusPeer Reviewen
cg.volume57en
dc.contributor.authorAbay, Kibrom A.en
dc.contributor.authorAsnake, Woinisheten
dc.contributor.authorAyalew, Hailemariamen
dc.contributor.authorChamberlin, Jordanen
dc.contributor.authorSumberg, Jamesen
dc.date.accessioned2024-05-22T12:10:53Zen
dc.date.available2024-05-22T12:10:53Zen
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/142695
dc.titleLandscapes of opportunity: Patterns of young people’s engagement with the rural economy in sub-Saharan Africaen
dcterms.abstractWhile much has been said in recent years about the importance of engaging rural youth in sub-Saharan Africa’s development, the factual data about how African youth currently engage in rural economies remain sparse. We use recent nationally representative household survey data from six countries to describe the patterns of such engagement. We find that young people participate in agriculture at similar rates to older people. However, participation in non-farm wage employment and business activity changes with age, peaking in the 30s. The likelihood of reporting no activity is greatest for people in their 20s. In more remote places, people leave school earlier and are less likely to engage in the non-farm sector, compared with people in more accessible places. We also find evidence that the non-farm economy is more diversified in relatively more accessible places, offering a larger set of options for economic engagement. We show that ‘landscapes of opportunity’ , defined by economic remoteness and agricultural potential, are an important way of assessing the choices available to young rural people. A key conclusion is that efforts to develop a ‘youth lens’ for rural development should not abandon the mainstays of rural investment strategies such as infrastructure, education, and agricultural R&D.en
dcterms.accessRightsOpen Access
dcterms.bibliographicCitationAbay, Kibrom A.; Asnake, Woinishet; Ayalew, Hailemariam; Chamberlin, Jordan; and Sumberg, James. 2021. Landscapes of opportunity: Patterns of young people’s engagement with the rural economy in sub-Saharan Africa. Journal of Development Studies 57(4): 594-613. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220388.2020.1808195en
dcterms.extentpp. 594-613en
dcterms.issued2021-04-01
dcterms.languageen
dcterms.licenseCC-BY-NC-ND-4.0
dcterms.publisherTaylor & Francisen
dcterms.replaceshttps://ebrary.ifpri.org/digital/collection/p15738coll5/id/7427en
dcterms.subjectrural youthen
dcterms.subjectyouth employmenten
dcterms.subjectrural economicsen
dcterms.subjectemploymenten
dcterms.subjectyouthen
dcterms.subjectoff-farm employmenten
dcterms.subjectrural areasen
dcterms.typeJournal Article

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