The document proposes a national seminar on rural youth in family farming to address their needs and challenges. [SENTENCE 1] The seminar will raise awareness of rural youth's role in producing over half the world's food and their potential to produce more, while facing constraints like climate change, land access issues, and limited resources and education. [SENTENCE 2] The objectives are to strengthen youth organizations, identify economic opportunities to reduce migration, share successful policies and research, and develop new policies to foster sustainable family farming. [SENTENCE 3] The seminar will address topics like the role of youth and technology in family farming and challenges faced, and innovative solutions.

1. Proposal for
National Seminar
on
Rural Youth in Family
Farming:
Need and
Challenges
Organized by
Directorate of Extension Education and
Department of Extension Education,
Bihar Agricultural University,
Sabour-813 210, Bihar

2. Subsistence Farming Family Farming
What is it?
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES
There are over 500 million
family farms
They make up over 98% of
farming holdings
They are responsible for at
least 56% of agricultural
production on 56% of the
land
Family farmers also work on
a significant portion of the
world’s farming land,
regional averages are:
85% in Asia
62% in Africa
83% in North and Central
America
68% in Europe
18% in South America

3. Introduction
• UN has designated year 2014 as the
International Year of Family Farming
(IYFF)
• Rural Youth engaged in family farming
produce over half of the world's food
and they have the potential to produce
more.
• Family farming includes all family-
based agricultural activities, and it is
linked to several areas of rural
development.
• Family farming is a means of
organizing agricultural, forestry,
fisheries, pastoral and aquaculture
production which is managed and
operated by a family and
predominantly reliant on family labour,
including both women’s and men’s.

4. The Need
Rural youth, smallholder and family
farmers are faced with numerous
challenges in the prevailing times such as
• climate change and climate variability;
• lack of tenure security in a context of
increasing competition for land and
water (population growth, urbanization)
and
• inadequate governance of land tenure;
• limited access to financial resources,
inputs, technology, training, research
and advisory services, and education,
price volatility (energy, food, etc.) and
limited access to markets among a few.

5. Objectives of the Seminar
• Raise awareness of the needs and
potential of youth in family farming,
along with the constraints that they
face, and ensure that they have
access to technical support along with
the creation of synergies for
sustainability
• Strengthening the legitimacy of
farmers' organizations, youth clubs
and their capacity to effectively
represent and defend the interests of
family farmers;
• Identification of rural economic
opportunities for youth in family
farming that provide alternatives to
migration to urban areas

6. Objectives (cont.)
• Identifying and sharing lessons learned and successful
pro-family farming policies, and capitalizing relevant
knowledge on family farming
• Development and formulation of policies that will foster
sustainable family farming
• Encouraging research that improves food security and
supports sustainable rural development, safeguarding
cultural heritage, protecting the environment and
maintaining biodiversity

7. Thematic Areas
1. Role of youth in family farming
2. Rural economic opportunities for youth in family
farming that provide alternatives to migration to urban
areas
3. Role of ICTs/ Innovative ICT solutions in contributing
to better family farming
4. Challenges and mitigation strategies to the problems
faced by youth in family farming
5. Cases of innovative ideas/ strategies/ business
proposals for improving family farm's productivity and
production efficiencies

8. • Identification of good resource persons who can
facilitate sessions effectively
• Drawing out a list of hand-picked serious participants
• Keep special session for presentation and discussion
by M.Sc and Ph. D students
• Collaboration opportunities
Future Plan of Work

9. Thank You