David Sarfo Ameyaw, the managing editor of the report and AGRA’s head of strategy, said the study found that many young Africans — especially educated ones — viewed working in agriculture as drudgery.

It found that only nine percent of youth in Ethiopia said they planned to work in agriculture. On the other hand, a majority of Nigeria’s youth viewed a career in agriculture as favorable. This may be due to the country’s effort at making agriculture a more attractive field for young people to pursue.

Ameyaw pointed out several major challenges that would-be farmers face. The first is access to land. He said Africa governments should create “land markets” to bring together buyers and sellers and provide information about the lots for sale.

Another major hurdle is giving young people access to credit that allows them to purchase land.

“The report points out that [in] the United States and other places as soon as young people enter college, they start building their credit reports,” said Ameyaw. “In Africa less than 20 percent of the young people have access to … a bank account or any form of credit from the bank. We saw that 90 percent of young people under the age of 35 have been accessing credit, but not from financial institutions. [Financial support comes] either from their mother or their father, friends or other family.”

Available at: http://www.voanews.com/content/report-africa-youth-are-key-to-food-security/3013616.html