Who Wants to Farm? Youth Aspirations, Opportunities and Rising Food Prices

This primary research explores the attitudes of young people and their families to farming within the context of price volatility, drawing from qualitative data from interviews conducted with ~1500 people across 10 countries. It uncovers four major determinants that shape youth expectations and aspirations in agriculture: (1) perceived risks of agriculture production vs. benefits in light of price increases from the producer side; (2) access to land; (3) youth access to inputs including input subsidies (and the degree to which access is influenced by higher commodity prices); and (4) the relative attraction of formal sector cash incomes when youth consumers experience increases in the cost of living.