Pacific youth comprise about 20% of the total population of Pacific Island countries and territories and their proportion is projected to grow at an annual rate of 2.2%. This rapid rise in the number of young people will increase demands for essential social services such as education and health, and for employment opportunities.

Many young people in the region already struggle to find formal employment when they leave the education system. Agriculture has often been regarded as a fall-back option – something to do if you don’t find anything else. But with high-levels of youth unemployment, increasing pressure on urban areas and high food import bills should we not be doing more to encourage, support and empower our young people to realise the full potential of a career in agriculture? And in the process help to improve food security, livelihood opportunities in rural areas and reduce pressure on urban areas.

The purpose of the youth in agriculture strategy is to recommend actions and initiatives that all stakeholders can pursue to encourage the active engagement of youth in agriculture across the region and the development of young agricultural entrepreneurs. We aim to present the Youth in Agriculture Strategy at the next Heads of Agriculture and Forestry Services (HOAFS) meeting in September 2010 and the Ministers of Youth in October 2010 for their endorsement and to take back and adapt to the national level.

As part of the strategy development process, sessions on youth in agriculture were held at the Pacific Youth Festival in 2009 and field work was conducted in three countries (Fiji, Kiribati and Tonga) to inform the strategy recommendations. This public consultation provides an opportunity for all interested stakeholders to provide their views on the issue and recommended actions. It also aims to further collect examples of successful case studies of youth in agriculture with good potential for replication.

The draft strategy and a response form to provide comments are available online at

http://www.spc.int/lrd/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=313&Itemid=130

The development of the Youth in Agriculture Strategy responds to a request by the Ministers of Agriculture to examine this issue in more detail and is an initiative of the Pacific Agriculture and Forestry Policy Network (PAFPNet) in partnership with the Human Development Programme of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

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