Young people are in an age group that requires optimum utilization of all food groups and consumption of considerable amounts of food.
However, much as Uganda can produce adequate amounts of food, not everyone can get sufficient food and the quality of food is poor, says Emmanuel Ssemakula, a programmes officer at Resilient and Wquitable Marketing Systems with Food Rights Alliance in Uganda.
He says changes in social and cultural aspects have driven the youth to consume less quality food, mostly junk foods, leaving out organic and balanced diet foods.
The inability of young people to access and afford nutritious food jeopardizes their growth, development and future productivity, says Youth Development Organisations in Uganda Led by Food Rights Alliance, a coalition that brings together Civil Social Organisations working in the field of sustainable agriculture and food security in Uganda.
It is estimated that 48.47% of Uganda’s population is between the ages of 0-14 years and 21.16% are aged between 15-24 years, according to 2022 population data. 78% of Uganda’s population is below the age of 30.
It said hungry youth most often resort to unsustainable practices such as deforestation, overfishing or unsustainable agriculture to meet their immediate food needs.
This can reduce the availability of resources for future generations, says the youth development organisation.
Also, although Agriculture employs 65% of the working population, of which 63% are youth, production is predominately in the hands of the ageing farmer population whose average age is 50 years. Worldwide, there is huge pressure on agriculture. “Nowadays, farmers are not producing a variety of foods, they are focused on crops such as maize, basic crops that can be sold commercially,” Ssemakula says.
“Quality foods such as vegetables, fruits and others that balance the diet are not produced in enough quantities.”
The youth in Uganda today are opting for non-agricultural careers in Urban areas and overseas.
According to the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, the Middle East is experiencing an influx of Ugandans looking for domestic jobs with at least 7,724 migrant workers departing Uganda on a monthly average in 2022. However, youth involvement in agriculture can promote the adoption of ecofriendly practices, contributing to soil health, water conservation, and biodiversity preservation.
Uganda Friday, August 18, celebrated International Youth Day six days after the global International Youth Day celebrations held on August 12, under the theme, Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World was selected.
Green Skills include knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource efficient society. Ssemakula says the youth can plant trees.
He also says for everyone to access quality food there is need to change mindsets. “The youth have less appetite for involvement in agriculture, and are not considering the value of sustainability, yet they are the future of the next generation. The unawareness last led them to not focus on agriculture.”
He says the threat in the next few years is having a population that is only interested in eating junk food and less interested in growing and consuming organic food.
To get the youth into agriculture and growing food, Ssemakula says there is need to sensitize the youth. He says government and all institutions promoting agriculture should support the youth to access among other knowledge, finances, farm inputs, land and agriculture extension services to engage in farming.
He says there is a huge agriculture knowledge gap that must be filled and digitization of agriculture to fit the modern world, and there should also be equal participation of all demographics in terms of age groups and genders in agriculture.
According to the United Nations, seven out of 10 young people want to be actively engaged in the green transition that involves moving from a carbon-based economy to a more sustainable economy.
The interest stems from continuous warmings from environmentalists that climate change as a result of destruction of the environment will lead to changes in biodiversity- which is the variety of life on earth, consequently affecting people.
However, in Uganda, there has been massive natural resource degradation demonstrated by declining land productivity, falling forest and wetland coverage, loss of biodiversity and rising pollution levels.
Reports say the situation has been worsened by the country’s high vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change such as droughts. Consequently, Uganda is facing declining levels of growth.
However, the green transition will lead societies including the people in Uganda to achieve a sustainable way of life so that human activity no longer endangers the planet.
The green transition simultaneously generates economic, environmental and social development outcomes sustainably without leaving anyone behind including the future generations.
It will bring about improved health and social outcomes.
The green transition will also grant additional opportunities in the form of employment creation (green jobs).
A total of 8.4 million jobs will be created for young people by 2030, as a result of the green transition towards a greener world being driven by the youth.
It will spur economic growth as well as reduce future greenhouse emissions by 28% equivalent to 30.4 million tons of emissions by 2040, which is far above the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) target of 22% in Uganda.
The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the unrelenting conviction of young people is central to keeping climate goals within reach.
He says young people have been on the frontlines leading the charge for climate justice.
In Uganda Vision 2040 emphasizes that a green economy will contribute to eradicating poverty as well as sustaining economic growth, enhancing social inclusion, improving human welfare and creating opportunities for employment and decent work for all while maintaining the healthy functioning of the ecosystems.
However, according to the United Nations, Green skills demand is exceeding supply.
It says 60% of young people will lack the skills necessary to thrive in the green economy in 2030.
The UN says some disparities must be addressed. For instance, 67% of youth do not have digital skills due to the lack of basic resources.
Also, current occupational gender stereotypes are likely to persist stemming from the fact that in 2015-2021, 66%of green job transitions were done by men.
In Uganda, discriminative social norms, gender roles and stereotypes have discouraged young women from pursuing careers in fields related to green skilling. This has limited their exposure to their exposure to these opportunities and discouraged them from taking up roles that are perceived as more “masculine.”
The lack of visible female role models in green sectors has made it difficult for young women to envision themselves succeeding in these fields.
According to the United Nations, a successful transition towards a greener world will depend on the development of green skills in the population.
Source: New Vision
