Release number IFAD/10/07

Rome, 14 February 2007 - To alleviate the growing “youth crisis” in poor rural areas of the world, development policies need to target young people, said experts participating in a round-table discussion today the Governing Council meeting of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Panellists stressed that policymakers – and to some degree development practitioners – have neglected young people as a social category in their poverty reduction programmes.

Asha Juma, Minister for Labour, Youth Development, Women and Children in Zanzibar, spoke about the Tanzanian government’s efforts to increase employment opportunities in rural areas.

“We have made good progress but there are still many challenges,” including prostitution, drug abuse and HIV/AIDS, said Juma.

Paul Bennell of Knowledge and Skills for Development stressed that for young people in poor rural areas, the transition from childhood to adulthood is accelerated and that it is important to recognize the specific needs — educational, health, skills training – of people aged 15 to 24.

Education – poor quality as well and low access to it — and the need for appropriate agricultural training was a major theme of the discussion.

“Education must reach rural youth,” Bennell concluded.

Samir Radwan, an expert on the Near East and North Africa region, pointed out that development policies in the past 30 years have been urban-biased. Rural areas, he added, are not benefiting from the growth generated by market economies because of the lack of infrastructure and lack of investment in agriculture in rural areas.

Radwan said that IFAD should be credited for having raised the issue of rural youth and employment.

Marcela Villarreal of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) explained that rising rates of unemployment and underemployment in rural areas are exacerbating the crisis.

In many of the poorest countries young people represent some 50 per cent of the population, particularly in Africa. Thus, for IFAD and other agencies, governments and organizations working in development, they are a crucial group to reach.

One such successful intervention by IFAD was a large scale irrigation project in the Maharashtra state of India, cofinanced by the World Bank, which increased agricultural production as well as generated youth employment opportunities. Another example that has been strongly supported by IFAD is the establishment of rural banks in Benin that provided much-needed finance for enterprise development among youth.

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IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. Through low-interest loans and grants, it develops and finances projects that enable poor rural people to overcome poverty themselves. There are 185 ongoing IFAD-supported rural poverty eradication programmes and projects, totalling US$6.1 billion. IFAD has invested US$2.9 billion in these initiatives. Cofinancing has been provided by governments, beneficiaries, multilateral and bilateral donors and other partners. At full development, these programmes will help nearly 77 million poor rural women and men to achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Since starting operations in 1978, IFAD has invested US$9.5 billion in 732 programmes and projects that have helped more than 300 million poor rural men and women achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Governments and other financing sources in the recipient countries, including project participants, have contributed US$9.1 billion, and multilateral, bilateral and other donors have provided another US$7.1 billion in cofinancing.