By conversation
Persistent unemployment has become synonymous with the youth experience across South Africa. Youth unemployment rates are almost higher than the regional average – 62% of South Africans between 15 and 35 years are unemployed and of this 60 % have never been employed.
Add to this the fact that even those who have jobs are earning below what is considered to be a monthly living wage and what emerges is the youth employment crisis.
The agricultural sector could be a key source of job creation for young people. But conventional opinion has it that they are turning their backs on the sector despite high levels of unemployment. So what gives?
Drawing on personal narratives collected from 573 young people across three provinces in South Africa, recent research has begun building a picture of what young people think and feel about work in agriculture.
Unsurprisingly, agriculture appears to carry a stronger set of negative stigmas than other careers. Examples included themes around agriculture being for poor and elderly people, on the one hand, or, on the other, for wealthier white people.
Agriculture was also perceived by many as a risky career path that involved a lot of hard work for little financial reward…read more>>
