Talent Development in Agriculture: A call to action
April 16, 2015 – The IAFN, YPARD and GFRAS are among the global actors spearheading a worldwide “Call to Action” that asks governments to promote and foster talent development, knowledge dissemination, and skill enhancement in the agricultural sector. The Call was jointly drafted by businesses, youth organizations, academia, and agricultural knowledge & extension bodies, and has been circulated to the member countries of the UN’s Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
In its official seat at the CFS, the private sector is highlighting the urgency of unified action on talent development in agriculture in order to make the sector more sustainable, competitive, productive, and efficient. Emerging trends, shifting global markets, climate change, and the ageing of the agricultural workforce underscore the importance of this issue. Now more than ever, development actors must highlight the opportunities and benefits of a career in agriculture. The private sector will be integral to these efforts.
The five key points of the Call ask development actors to:
- Create an enabling environment and incentives for private sector engagement in talent development to improve linkages between supply and demand of knowledge and skills;
- Promote demand-driven and innovative agriculture education, training, and skills development programmes geared towards transformation and maintaining high performance culture at all levels;
- Recruit and retain youth and women in agriculture through incentives and the promotion of conducive environments for equitable access to secure land tenure, inputs, financial services, knowledge, and markets;
- Develop national agricultural plans and resource mobilisation strategies to enhance talent development in agriculture, food, and natural resources while including women and youth in the process;
- Develop monitoring, learning, evaluation, and knowledge management systems for talent development
These measures will help to set agriculture on the path to a brighter future, for the sector and for the entire globe.
Agricultural businesses and farm groups are invited to join us in our debates, in Rome or virtually. Social media hashtag: #CallforAction
