The Future of Work Podcast

[music]

-Hello, and welcome to the ILO's Future of Work podcast.

I'm Sandra Kuchen.

Today, we're exploring a topic

that affects millions of young people around the world:

youth employment in rural areas.

Agriculture has long been a major source of work,

but for many young people, making a living in this sector isn't easy.

What if agriculture could be transformed into an exciting career path?

What if young people were empowered,

not only to work in the sector, but to lead it?

That's the story of today's guest, Clara Kamlomo,

a young woman from Malawi

who turned her training in agriculture into a thriving business.

An entrepreneur and employer,

she has five permanent staff on her team

and is also helping others find opportunities in the sector.

Later in the episode, we'll also hear from Chiara Curcio,

an expert in youth employment at the International Labour Organization,

who will help us understand the bigger picture.

Clara and Chiara, welcome to the podcast.

-Hi, Sandra, it's great to be here.

-Thank you so much.

It's an honour to be on this programme.

-Clara, let's start with your journey.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself

and how your passion for farming started?

-I had just graduated from school, and I had a hope

that I'm going to get employment.

I'll start earning a salary and taking care of myself as a lady.

That wasn't the reality.

The reality was that there are limited jobs in Malawi,

so the issue was unemployment.

I was thinking of ways to employ myself and as well as others.

This problem wasn't just on me, but even to other young people.

I got into agriculture for that reason, first,

and also because I saw the untapped potential

in rural areas,

not just in the land, but as well as in the people.

I wanted to prove

that farming could be a powerful tool for economic freedom,

especially for young people like me.

It wasn't just about crops,

it was about creating opportunity, dignity, and pride in work

that is often overlooked.

That's when I was like,

"Let me start a business by just using some of the skills

that I got from school."

However, there were challenges,

for example, limited access to resources like land,

funding, reliable markets.

Especially as a young woman just starting out,

it was really hard.

The perception,

many people saw agriculture as a last resort,

changing that mindset, even within myself at times was tough.

The lack of supporting systems,

there weren't many platforms

or mentors to guide me as a young agripreneur.

I had to learn a lot by trial and error,

but then we thank ILO/IFAD for the programmes

that I got in.

The first one was the Work Integrated Learning programme,

where I learned more about organic farming.

It gave me a boost of the little knowledge that I had.

It gave me a push to start

taking everything seriously and as a serious business.

I got a lot of different skills from it.

It's been quite a journey.

On my own, I wouldn't be here, but thanks to ILO for the programmes

that they included me in.

-You just mentioned the ProAgro YOUTH programme,

which you took part in, and this is a programme,

which works with young people in Malawi and elsewhere in Africa

to boost their employment opportunities in agriculture.

Can you tell us a little bit more about

what the impact was for you of this experience?

-The impact is really big in my life and in my business as a whole

because in the past, as I said earlier on, I used to do things

without proper knowledge or even direction.

The ProAgro YOUTH helped me acquire some really required skills

for a young person trying business.

These are business as well as technical skills.

For example, for the business part,

I was able to know or learn about business planning and management.

In the past, I was just doing things without proper planning

and not knowing how to manage whatever I was doing.

Now I can do strategic decision-making, risk assessment, and mitigation.

We were taken through financial literacy.

Now I know about financial reporting and cash flows,

as well as marketing and sales, or even entrepreneurship,

identifying opportunities and studying, or even how to scale up my business.

The technical part of these skills,

I was able to learn about production techniques,

irrigation systems,

soil and water conservation techniques,

integrated pest management, the safe handling of chemicals.

It was vast.

It was a training which was loaded with all the required skills.

Not only that, but even the ProAgro has exposed me

to even bigger opportunities.

It was a very good programme for me.

-It sounds like it was a very in-depth and comprehensive training,

and you're now a thriving entrepreneur and employer.

You're also an advocate for young, rural people.

Earlier this year, you participated as the only young person

on a panel at a G20 event.

You've written, and I quote, "Make enough noise

until you get attention from the most influential people."

Clara, it sounds like you're succeeding.

How does it feel to have got to where you are today?

-Felt really great.

As a young person, I never thought that even being part of this podcast;

I never thought that this was going to come through.

Even making it up to the G20,

it was a great honour and an evidence

that we're really moving.

I am not where I was, and we are really taking a good direction.

It feels deeply fulfilling.

There were moments of doubt and setbacks, but staying true to my purpose,

creating opportunities for the youth,

and building something impactful has kept me grounded.

Being the only young person

on that G20 panel was a very powerful reminder

that our voices do matter, even in the highest rooms.

The quote that "Make enough noise

until you get attention from the most influential people,"

wasn't just a statement; it was a strategy.

Now seeing doors that are opening and people listen,

feels so proud.

I feel so proud of myself,

but also I'm becoming more responsible than ever to represent others

who haven't had their chance yet.

Being at the G20,

I was representing millions of young people

whose voice maybe cannot be heard.

-Clara, your story is super inspiring,

but not every young person living in a rural area in Malawi or elsewhere

has access to these opportunities.

To help us understand this more, I'd like to now bring in Chiara Curcio,

an ILO expert in youth employment.

Chiara, what are some of the biggest challenges

facing young people in rural areas when it comes to finding decent work?

-Just to give you some context and allow me to bring some figures.

Agriculture is still the main source of employment in rural areas

and it's especially so in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia and the Pacific.

For instance, young people aged 15 to 35

make up half of the agricultural workforce,

and over 50% of rural youth worldwide

spend their working time in the agrifood sector.

This percentage actually goes up to 70% in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Agriculture is still an important sector that the ILO,

but usually the UN system and donors must keep investing in deeply.

Now, when it comes to the key challenges, despite their involvement,

many rural youth are stuck in low-quality and informal jobs.

I'd like to identify three main issues here.

The first one is that we still have a widespread working poverty.

Youth are more likely to be working poor than adults.

This is more so in developing countries,

where 40.7% of youth earn less than US$2.15 a day.

The second point is the high level of informality

that is very much linked to the agricultural sector,

and especially on the agriculture production,

but that means in rural areas.

In low-income countries, 89% of jobs are informal.

One in three informal workers is in agriculture,

so the math is very easy to do right here.

The third important point

I'd like to mention is the so-called NEET,

youth that are not in education or employment, or training,

which is so high in rural areas,

particularly among young women due to both personal circumstances

and, of course, lack of opportunities.

-We talked about the ProAgro YOUTH project

and how it played a big role in Clara's journey.

Can you tell us more about the project?

What's new about how it's supporting young, rural people

in the labour market?

-ProAgro YOUTH is a joint initiative

funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development,

GAZ, and Visa Foundation, implemented by the ILO in Malawi,

Madagascar, Algeria, and Côte d'Ivoire.

The project promotes both wage

and self-employment

among young people through integrated agribusiness hubs.

At the heart of the project, where I do see

the most innovative action,

is exactly that we are piloting this integrated approach

to agribusiness hubs,

which provide not just a set of interventions

but aims at bridging labour supply, labour demand,

along with labour market intermediation support.

For instance, the project provides both technical

and soft skills training to our young beneficiaries.

It provides labour market intermediation,

which means connecting youth to available jobs

and support for business start-ups and entrepreneurship.

Another innovative approach

that we are implementing in the project

is to work along the agrifood value chains.

The project is identifying

and promoting access to decent work opportunities,

especially in green and inclusive rural economies.

-Clara, I'd like to turn back to you.

Chiara talked about empowering entrepreneurs.

Based on your own experience of starting a business,

what more would you like to see happening

to support young people working in agriculture?

-The first thing for me is to make agriculture very attractive.

Because for years, agriculture has been considered

as a thing for the poor, the uneducated.

It hasn't been attractive.

Even though we are training more young people

to join in agriculture jobs,

most of them might not stay long

because they're not getting exactly what they expected.

We need to modernise the image of agriculture.

Agriculture must be rebranded from dirty and hard work

or hard labour

to a dynamic, innovative, and profitable career.

Somebody should know that if I become a farmer

or if I work on an agriculture institution,

I'll do as well as an accountant or as a banker.

This should be done by showing success stories

of young agripreneurs using technology and earning well.

This can really happen.

Now I'll just give an example.

If you go on my Facebook business page, you see the comments.

Already, people are saying, "I want to become a farmer.

I want to become a farmer,"

because now they're admiring something.

They know that farming can take you to a higher place.

We should make it attractive

to make it more appealing to young people.

Also, we have to incorporate technology and innovation,

like the promotion of using the drones, apps, precision farming.

Young people are interested in technology.

When you are linking agriculture with innovation,

it's going to increase its appeal.

The third thing is we have to make the trainings

youth-centred. OK?

The trainings should be youth-centred, and there should be mentorship.

Training should be practical,

business-focused, and inspiring.

Not just training young people to just produce,

but it should be business-focused and very inspiring.

We should also pair youth with successful mentors.

This is going to help

because if you just give a training and just leave the youths,

it's going to end there.

If there are mentors who keep on growing with them

through their journey,

it's going to keep on keeping them motivated

and getting good results at the end.

-Now there are lots of good ideas there.

Chiara, from your perspective, what is the ILO's role in this?

How does the ILO's work

continue to bring value for youth employment in agriculture,

and how does it ensure it remains relevant?

-That's an excellent question, Sandra.

I'm happy to say that the ILO promotes an integrated,

rights-based, and gender-responsive approach

to rural youth employment

through policy advice

and technical support at the country-level,

partnership, like our collaboration with IFAD

in the case of ProAgro YOUTH

and by generating evidence to inform and influence global action.

Now, no single measure will solve

the youth employment challenge in rural areas.

We need coordinated action

across at least three fronts in my view.

The first one is job creation.

We need to support youth entrepreneurship

and access to finance,

promote inclusive public works in rural areas,

and leverage green and digital sectors, exactly as Clara said.

Technology makes agriculture attractive again for young people.

The second one is improving job quality,

which is very important at the core of the ILO mandate

through extending social protection to young rural workers,

ensure rights at work, including safe conditions and fair pay,

and strengthen labour inspection

and collective bargaining to the extent possible.

The third point is also something that I raised at the beginning

is the supporting transitions.

It's very important to connect youth to available jobs.

By improved access to career guidance, training, and apprenticeship,

along with strengthened rural labour market data

to guide decision making, the ILO can really step forward

and take a lead action on this regard.

-Fantastic. Thank you, Chiara.

Clara, before we wrap up,

what advice would you give other young people

who might be considering a career in agriculture?

You talked about somebody posting a message on your Facebook page

saying, "Oh, this looks interesting."

What advice would you give them?

-To my fellow young people, the future is now.

We are the future, so we need to act now.

You need to start where you are and with what you have.

The rest do follow.

You don't need everything figured out.

Just take the first step.

Small beginnings can lead to big breakthroughs.

You have to be bold about your dreams, speak up,

share your ideas.

Don't wait for permission to lead.

Sometimes, making noise is necessary to get noticed and open doors.

Thank you.

-I think those are great philosophical words

that we can all apply to our lives.

Chiara, what's one key message you'd like policymakers and organisations

to take away from this conversation?

-Well, my one key message is

that rural youth aren't just beneficiaries.

They are the drivers of change.

As ILO, as UN, we must remember ourselves

that we need to put the youth at the front seat,

at the driver's seat of this change.

By meaningful engaging these young people

in our policy and programming,

we can really make a change that can last and be sustainable.

-Talking with you both,

it's clear that agriculture can be a powerful driver

of youth employment and rural development.

Making it work requires the right training,

support,

and mindset.

Clara, you made that clear.

Thank you to both of you, Clara and Chiara,

for sharing your insights with us today.

Thank you to our listeners for tuning in.

If you enjoy our show,

make sure to follow it and please give us a like on Spotify,

Apple, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You can also learn more about the ILO's work on youth employment

by following us on our social media channels.

Our handles are @ilo on Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, and X.

On Instagram, we are @ilo.org.

Join us next time for another episode of the Future of Work podcast.

Goodbye.

[music]