Youth, Land and Rural Livelihoods in Africa

Rural economic transformations in Africa are generating new opportunities to engage with agricultural value chains. However, many young people are said to be locked out of such opportunities because of limited access to farmland, which pushes them out of agriculture and rural areas, and/or hinders their autonomy. This framing of the ‘land problem’ imperfectly reflects rural young people’s livelihoods in much of sub-Saharan Africa, and therefore does not provide a solid basis for policy. Policy-relevant discussions must consider the diversity of rural contexts, broader land dynamics and more nuanced depictions of youth engagement with the rural economy.

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