Youth important in development

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In one of its resolutions, the 8nited 1ations 81 *eneral $ssembly en dorsed the recommendation made by the :orld &onference of 0inisters 5esponsible for Youth that $ugust be declared International Youth 'ay.

The assembly recommended that public information activities be or ganised to support the day, as a way to promote better awareness of the world programme of action for the youth, adopted by the *eneral $ssembly in .

:ith the world¶s population e[pect ed to increase by two billion people in the ne[t years, it has become recognised by numerous stakeholders that simply producing a larger volume of healthier food more sustainably will not ensure human and planetary wellbeing.

Other crucial challenges must also be addressed, such as the interlink ages embodied by the $genda including poverty reduction social inclusion healthcare biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.

The 81 sec retary general observed that ³Young peo ple are on the frontlines of the struggle to build a better future for all. The &O9 I' pan demic has highlighted the dire need for the kind of transformation al change they seek ± and young people must be full partners in that effort.”

Challenges

In the midst of the pandemic, agri culture, globally and specifically in (swatini, is facing maMor challenges, including feeding a growing popu lation.

The need to address rural poverty, and the management of ecosystem, goods and services in light of global environmental changes is ev ident through climate change.

)ood sys tems include, not only the basic ele ments of how we get food from farms to the table, but also all of the processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a pop ulation, and the negative e[ternalities that could be generated during the pro cess, such as air and ocean pollution as well as desertification.

3opulation health is also key in addressing food systems challenges, especially as nutrition related chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, car diovascular disease, and some forms of cancer are maMor contributors to the global burden of disease.

(swatini is a youthful population where it is estimated that close to four out of five emaSwati are younger than

years old, and over one in three are between the ages of and .

:ith high levels of unemployment, opportunities for young people to participate in agricultural value chains and promote biodiversity management and threats to the environment are im perative for (swatini to realise youth dividend by investing in the partici pation of young people in sustainable food systems.

Addressing

This can be done by addressing access to land by young people and access to finance and skills develop ment, among a host of others.

Young people have innovation po tential, access to social media plat forms which translates to global in terconnectedness. *overnment should use policies, regional youth and global instruments and the national budget to empower the youth so that the youth dividend is realised in (swatini.

(PPDQXHO