Knowledge

This paper shows that while anticipated increases in food demand by 2050 can largely be met regionally, potential yield increases or diversification will not contribute automatically to inclusive rural transformation. Instead, urbanization may potentially increase rural inequality and poverty.

Although the importance of inclusion in food system transformation is gaining traction, this paper argues that recent research and discourse on the topic is insufficient and that specific actions are needed to ensure that this transformation does not take place on the backs of the rural poor.

Using country-level data from 85 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), this paper outlines a food systems index (FSI) and analyses the linkages between food systems and structural and rural transformation, as well as population distributions.

This paper explores the prospects for a food system index (FSI) capturing several key components that influence differences in food system performance at the country level.

This paper highlights five fundamental paradigm shifts that are required to overcome trade-offs and build synergies between health and nutrition, inclusive livelihoods, environmental sustainability, and food system resilience.

This paper reviews the narrative on rural youth and economic opportunities in Africa, using a set of policy documents from various African countries and regional and international organizations. 

This study reviews the opportunities and challenges facing rural youth in the Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia region.

This study offers a general picture of the situation of rural youth in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

This study characterizes the structural and rural transformation of the Asia and the Pacific region.

This study presents a framework to analyse the political economy of rural youth policy and institutions’ opportunity space with a quadrant that measures the extent to which rural youth are a priority in policies and institutions versus the extent that governments have to effectively implement rural youth policies.

This study analyses how migrants positively contribute to the sustainable economic development of rural youth in their countries of origin.

This study takes a unique look at the determinants of youth migration across seven different countries using recently collected data.

While conflicts are often defined as “development in reverse”, there is a general lack of research focusing specifically on young people living in rural areas. 

This study examines the intersections between youth access to land, migration decisions and employment opportunities in various African countries.

This analysis reviews existing research on the impact of digital initiatives on youth in the education, agriculture, financial and employment sectors.

This study analyses inclusive finance and rural youth through cutting-age research with new insights and approaches that have emerged over the years in the field. 

In this study, we show that rural transformation processes are associated with improvements in rural youth nutrition – malnutrition and underweight – in nearly all regions, although the pace of change varies considerably across countries.

Climate change matters for all young people, especially for those whose livelihoods depend on agriculture. This study shows that adaptation to climate change is feasible and options increase as new technologies and management approaches come on-stream. 

Research on rural youth aspirations suggests that many young people are not averse to agriculture as such, but to agriculture’s current neglected condition

This study is motivated by the consistent portrayal of agriculture and the broader rural economy in Africa as domains of opportunity for rural youth.