Creating opportunities for rural youth2019 Rural Development ReportCreating opportunities for rural youth2019 Rural Development ReportCopyright ©International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC-IGO BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO) license (creativecommons/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo/legalcode) and may be reproduced with attribution to IFAD and for any non-commercial purposes. No derivative work is allowed. Note that the link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.The use of the IFADs name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IFADs logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between IFAD and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC-IGO license.The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IFAD, its Governing Bodies, or its Member States.Table of contentsAcronyms 10Acknowledgements 12Foreword 14Overview 17Why young people are important for rural development 18Three foundations for rural youth development: productivity, connectivity and agency 20Overlapping settings at the national, local and household levels 23Constraints hindering the transition from dependence to independence 32The unprecedented rate and nature of change today 35Thinking differently about investing in rural youth 38Embedding rural youth policy and investments in broader rural development strategies 41References 44Endnotes 47Chapter 1 Thinking differently about rural youth 49Why young people are important for rural development 50Three foundations for rural youth development: productivity, connectivity and agency 53Structural and rural transformation on a national scale 55The rural opportunity space 57Household transformation categories 59Constraints in the transition from dependence to independence 60The unprecedented rate and nature of change 62Thinking differently about investing in rural youth 64References 66Chapter 2 Where do rural youth live and how do they engage with the economy? 69The challenges for rural youth in the least transformed countries are extremely daunting, yet these nations account for only about 20 per cent of the developing worlds rural youth population 72An overwhelming proportion of the developing worlds rural youth live in areas with relatively high population densities and a strong agroecological potential 78Rural youths livelihoods are shaped by their households level of transformation 83Spotlight: Rural youth in conflict-affected and fragile situations 94Spotlight: Near East, North Africa, Europe and Central Asia (NEN) 96References 983Chapter 3 Empowering young rural women to pursue productive livelihoods 101Being young, being rural and being a woman poses a triple challenge 102Rural transformation and the rural opportunity space shape young rural womens livelihoods 106Programmatic agenda for empowering young rural women 112References 117Chapter 4 Socio-political participation of rural youth 121Rural youth participation matters 122Why participation matters 123Levels and mechanisms of youth participation 127Advantages and disadvantages of participation mechanisms 129Beyond mechanisms: further considerations for fostering effective rural youth participation 135Spotlight: Indigenous youth 137Annex 4.1 Participation experiences reviewed 139References 141Chapter 5 Capturing the demographic dividend for rural youth 145A majority of the rural youth population lives in Asia, but it is growing much faster in Africa 147The first demographic dividend is a one-time opportunity 149Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging behind in the demographic transition and risks missing the demographic dividend 151Countries in other regions have an opportunity to increase the first dividend and prepare for a second one 158Effective investments for reaping the demographic dividend(s) prioritize rural youth especially young rural women159Spotlight: Rural youth mobility 162References 164Chapter 6 How can rural youth prosper in changing agrifood systems? 169Across much of the developing world, agrifood systems are at a transformational stage that offers many opportunities for rural youth 170The agrifood system is a key livelihood channel for rural youth 173Across the developing world, diets are changing at an unprecedented rate, making diet-related challenges a youth issue 180Policy priorities for an inclusive and healthy AFS transformation process 182Spotlight: Youth entrepreneurship186References 189Chapter 7 Climate change is a youth issue 193What makes climate change a youth issue? 195How does climate change affect rural youth opportunities? 1984 2019 Rural Development Report Creating opportunities for rural youthAdaptation to climate change is essential to ensure sustainable livelihood opportunities for rural youth 200A programmatic approach to climate change adaptation is needed that goes beyond agriculture to ensure productivity, connectivity and agency for rural youth 202References 207Chapter 8 Digital divide(nd)? 211Digital technology is likely to accelerate the decline of labour-intensive manufacturing as a source of job growth in developing countries 212Yet the digital revolution also opens up new opportunities for bridging age, gender and rural-urban divides 215Capturing the potential benefits of the digital revolution for rural youth requires new investments at the national level and the development of new skills by young people 220Spotlight: Remittances contribute to rural youth development 222References 224Chapter 9 Rural youth challenges and opportunities across and within regions 227Broad regional patterns: Demographic transition and the ability to invest in rural youth 228How does the rural opportunity space shape young peoples economic engagement in the different regions?234Salient region-specific challenges for the inclusion of rural youth can inform policies and investments 239References 250Chapter 10 Thinking differently about investing in rural youth 255An effective rural youth policy and investment agenda must strike the right balance between broad rural development and youth-specific investments 256What does “broad rural development and youth-specific policies and investments” mean? 258Proliferating national “youth policies” need to focus on striking the right balance in the light of their countries and opportunity spaces levels of transformation 260Designing youth strategies that are appropriate for specific countries and their rural spaces 262Cross-cutting investments 269Final remarks