Key messages from the SWAC/OECD webinar on agriculture, food and jobs which took place on 28 June 2018. http://www.oecd.org/swac/events/webinar-food-employment-west-africa-june-2018.htm

1. Key Messages
SWAC/OECD Webinar –
Food Employment in West Africa
Message 1: Food markets are expanding rapidly to the rise of
commercial farmer entrepreneurs and domestic investment
Message 2: Large entrepreneurial and employment opportunities
created in upstream and midstream activities
Message 3: Domestic traders and logistics providers (‘hidden
middle’) – needs to be better integrated in analyses and policy
formulation
Saweda Liverpool-Tasie
Assistant Professor

2. Key Messages
SWAC/OECD Webinar –
Food Employment in West Africa
Message 1: Further spatial analysis needed to assess potential for remote rural
areas to benefit from the development of food markets and rural-urban linkages,
(incl. mobility patterns, transport costs and ICTs).
Message 2: Institutional innovations related to market access, such as
participatory guarantee systems, multi-actor innovation platforms and community
supported agriculture, can contribute to more responsible and sustainable agri-food
development while favoring youth integration.
Message 3: FAO is investing in knowledge generation on migratory and mobility patterns
in rural areas, as well as on opportunities for youth engagement offered by
specific value chains. (Youth-centred value chain assessment tool piloted in Uganda.)
Ileana Grandelis
Rural Employment Officer

3. Key Messages
SWAC/OECD Webinar –
Food Employment in West Africa
· Message 1: Urbanisation and the development of long food
chains is critical for sustained employment generation
· Message 2: Food systems in West Africa are in a transitional
phase (80% in total), governments should therefore prioritise
employment growth in response to potential instability in labour
markets
· Message 3: It is necessary to develop specific policies to facilitate
enhanced participation by youth and women in labour markets
Thomas Reardon,
Professor

4. Key Messages
SWAC/OECD Webinar –
Food Employment in West Africa
Message 1: Reliable employment data on program/project level is crucial to know what
works and to allow for accountability against policy commitments. With limited
resources and a lack of reliable data, there is an urgent need for simple but sound
methodologies to assess employment impacts.
Message 2: A common framework and definitions are a pre-requisite for
aggregated results as well as for complementarity and comparability. A more
comprehensive coordination and cooperation between the different actors and especially
development partners will help to capitalize on coherent implementation and joint
learning.
Message 3: At strategic level, a comprehensive approach to rural youth
employment is urgently needed, with skills, business opportunities and better economic
framework conditions at its core, but closely accompanied by complementary and
coherent policies for education, social security, population dynamics, etc.
Ousmane Djibo
Project Manager, Agricultural
Policy and Food Security