IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 43 Youth Agrifood System Employment in Developing Countries: A Gender-Differentiated Spatial Approach

37 Pages Posted: 10 Feb 2020 Last revised: 6 Apr 2020

See all articles by Aslihan Arsalan

Aslihan Arsalan

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change

David Tschirley

Michigan State University - Department of Agricultural Economics

Michael Dolislager

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Thomas Reardon

Michigan State University - Department of Agricultural Economics

Louise Fox

University of California, Berkeley

Lenis Saweda Liverpool-Tasie

Applied Fiscal Research Centre (AFReC) (Pty) Ltd.

Sauer Christine

Michigan State University

Date Written: December 12, 2019

Abstract

Despite a burgeoning literature on youth employment, little is known about the economic activities of rural youth, including whether rural transformation, seen through the lens of the agrifood system (AFS) will create new opportunities for youth. Using data on hours worked of 467,453 workingage individuals in four age cohorts (early youth, later youth, early adulthood, later adulthood) and a rural-urban gradient based on population density (rural hinterland, intermediate, peri-urban and urban zones) in 188,996 households in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, we provide empirical evidence on this gap in literature. We find that no region allocates more than 37 per cent of their labour hours to on-farm employment, but when including off-farm AFS self- and wage employment, total AFS accounts for half of all hours worked. Even in Latin America, off-farm AFS accounts for 21 per cent of hours worked, demonstrating the importance of pre- and postfarm value added for employment creation. Youth appear to access off-farm AFS opportunities more easily than non-AFS ones, especially wage employment in urban and peri-urban zones. These findings dispute the narrative that youth do not enter farming and cannot get wage jobs, as youth work substantial hours in both sectors with distinct spatial patterns.

Keywords: Agrifood Systems, Gender, Employment, Rural Transformation, Youth

Suggested Citation

Arsalan, Aslihan and Tschirley, David and Dolislager, Michael and Reardon, Thomas A. and Fox, Louise and Liverpool-Tasie, Lenis Saweda and Christine, Sauer, IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 43 Youth Agrifood System Employment in Developing Countries: A Gender-Differentiated Spatial Approach (December 12, 2019). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3520554 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3520554

Aslihan Arsalan (Contact Author)

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) ( email )

Via Paolo di Dono
Rome, 00142
Italy

CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change ( email )

Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

David Tschirley

Michigan State University - Department of Agricultural Economics ( email )

East Lansing, MI 48824
United States

Michael Dolislager

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Thomas A. Reardon

Michigan State University - Department of Agricultural Economics ( email )

East Lansing, MI 48824
United States
517-355-1521 (Phone)
517-432-1800 (Fax)

Louise Fox

University of California, Berkeley ( email )

310 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

Lenis Saweda Liverpool-Tasie

Applied Fiscal Research Centre (AFReC) (Pty) Ltd.

7708 Rondebosch
South Africa

Sauer Christine

Michigan State University ( email )

Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, MI 48824-1122
United States

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