Youth in agrifood systems – education, skills and opportunities in Rural Areas

In July 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a report highlighting the situation of young people in agricultural and food systems. The report The Status of Youth in Agrifood Systems emphasises, among others, the challenges youth face in accessing education, training and qualifications needed for the labour market, especially in rural areas.

Globally, more than 20 per cent of young people were not in education, employment or training (NEET) in 2023, with young women making up two-thirds of this group.

Rural youth lag behind

Despite global progress in education, rural youth still face significant disadvantages compared to their urban peers. Across all agrifood systems, only 74 per cent of rural young people complete lower-secondary education, compared with 85 per cent in urban areas.

Rural youth also have limited access to social networks, education, and training opportunities, which restricts their chances for wage employment in agrifood systems.

Young rural women are particularly disadvantaged. In protracted-crisis agrifood systems, only 20.5 per cent of rural girls complete lower-secondary education, compared to over 50 per cent in urban areas and 98 per cent in industrial agrifood systems.

While rural-urban gaps are visible across food systems, they tend to be smaller in expanding and diversifying agrifood systems. In some cases, such as in Djibouti, the Gambia, Honduras and Iraq, exceptions occur. Interestingly, in diversifying food systems, rural girls often outperform boys and nearly reach the same level as urban girls. In industrial agrifood systems, rural-urban and gender gaps disappear.

Numeracy skills remain alarmingly low 

Between 2000 and 2022, the global youth literacy rate increased from 87 per cent to 93 per cent. However, literacy and, especially, numeracy skills remain weak, even among those attending school.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 21.4 per cent of youth aged 15–24 still lack basic literacy skills, with similar challenges in South Asia and North Africa. Numeracy is even more critical. In 13 sub-Saharan African countries, the share of children (7–14 years) with foundational numeracy ranges from below 1 per cent to just 36 per cent.

These skills gaps are recognised as a major constraint on competitiveness, contributing to low-quality jobs, poverty and inequality.

Education-labour market mismatch 

Access to education alone does not guarantee that young people acquire the skills required by local labour markets. In a sample of eight sub-Saharan countries, 47 per cent of employed youth were overqualified for their jobs, while 28 per cent were underqualified.

This mismatch leaves many students, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, without the skills needed for better-paying jobs in agriculture and other sectors.

Globally, only 13.6 per cent of young people have completed vocational training designed to bridge skills gaps. Moreover, young men and women in rural areas often have limited access to agricultural advisory services, which typically target older male household heads.

Digital technologies are part of the solution

Digital and information technologies (ICTs) can provide rural youth with greater access to social networks, education and training opportunities, thereby improving their participation in agrifood systems. This is especially promising since youth are more digitally connected than adults.

The economic potential is immense. Reducing youth unemployment and providing jobs for the 20–24 age group currently not in employment, education or training could increase gross domestic product (GDP) by 1.4 per cent (USD 1.5 trillion). Around 45 per cent of this growth would come from agrifood systems.

Ines Lechner, editor Rural 21

Read more and download the report “The Status of Youth in Agrifood Systems” on the FAO website