Young Africans find hope in farming as urban life becomes too expensive
TAMBACOUNDA, Senegal (AP) — On a scorching afternoon in Senegal, 33-year-old farmer Filly Mangassa threw his peanut plants onto his horse-drawn cart, sending clouds of dust flying.
Ten years ago, he set out from his village to the capital Dakar with the dream of becoming a professor. However, the high cost of living and lack of jobs make this dream unattainable.
“Especially after Covid-19, companies were not hiring and prices were increasing,” said Mangassa, who has a master’s degree in criminology. “I thought: My father and grandfather were farmers, so why don’t I use that experience and go back to my hometown and try to make a living from farming?”
In much of Africa, farming has long been considered a low-status job, pushing young people into cities to seek office jobs.
“My father and some people in my family saw me returning to the countryside as sort of a step back,” Mangassa said.
But this perception is changing. Rising food prices, investments in irrigation and access to new technologies make agriculture more profitable. Governments and nonprofits now fund programs that teach advanced farming skills and provide farmers with equipment, fertilizer, pesticides, and seed support.
“When my father saw that I had a clear and comprehensive business plan, he encouraged me and helped me with the administrative process of acquiring land,” Mangassa said.
He is part of a trend of young Africans leaving the cities to try their luck in farming. Mangassa says he makes a profit of about CFA 2 million ($3,500 a year); This is well above Senegal’s median annual income of about $2,500.
Africa is the fastest urbanizing region in the world, with cities growing at an average of 3.5% per year. As the city population increases, the cost of living also increases.
Although average salaries are significantly lower, average rents and grocery prices in places like Dakar or Kenya’s capital Nairobi approach prices in major European cities, according to the World Bank.
Meanwhile, 10 to 12 million young Africans enter the job market each year, but only 3 million formal jobs are created, according to the African Development Bank.
“Many of my friends who graduated at the same time as me are now working as motorcycle taxi drivers and barely making ends meet,” Mangassa said.
We help young farmers acquire land
Mangassa now has a 32-acre farm where he grows peanuts, corn, vegetables and fruits. He received some funding to purchase land from the World Food Program initiative, which helps young Africans pursue careers in agriculture.
The program, which was launched in 2023 and is planned to last until early 2027, has supported approximately 380,000 people to establish agricultural businesses.
It works with local governments to allow young farmers to acquire land; This is often a challenge due to complex property systems and young people having difficulty getting loans because they are seen as high risk.
In Senegal, the program supported more than 61,000 people, more than 80% of whom opened farms, according to WFP. It also operates in Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania.
“Our research shows three main barriers to young people entering agriculture: limited access to land, finance and inputs; lack of practical skills; and challenging market conditions – knowing when to sell, how to add value and how to market their products,” said Pierre Lucas, WFP’s country director for Senegal.
Like many African countries, Senegal is struggling with the epidemic food insecurity This situation got worse donor funding cuts and climatic conditions are worsening.
Ibrahima Hathie, an agricultural economist at the Senegal-based Prospective Agriculture and Rural Enterprise think tank, said the region was also recovering from the colonial period.
“In Senegal, for example, farmers were pressured to grow peanuts to be sold in France instead of food crops,” Hathie said.
Scarcity of arable land and soil degradation further constrain food production.
However, Hathie said that many young farmers are now turning to high-value crops and have better technology, so production has increased, and predicted that basic food prices may fall as more locally produced food enters the markets.
Farming becomes an alternative to migration
Senegal is the main departure point for migrants trying to reach Europe via the deadly Atlantic route. Authorities see agriculture as a way to create jobs that will keep young people at home and are launching campaigns in rural areas most affected by migration.
“I believe that agriculture and livestock farming are the only sectors that can create the hundreds of thousands of jobs that young people in Africa need,” Senegal’s agriculture minister, Mabouba Diagne, told reporters in October.
24-year-old Adama Sane once dreamed of reaching Europe but had no money to pay smugglers. He moved to Dakar in 2020 but struggled to make a living as a construction worker. Then he heard about the WFP initiative.
“The discovery of agriculture, in a sense, saved my life,” Sane said. “If I had stayed in my construction job, sooner or later I would have tried to cross the ocean.”
He now raises poultry and grows peppers on his five-acre farm in his village.
“I’m still a long way from where I want to be with my job, but at least I’m saving a lot of money and life is less stressful compared to the city,” Sane said. “Many young people think that being a farmer is a ‘small job,’ but a public awakening is beginning to emerge that agriculture could be the key to development in Senegal.”
Three other potential immigrants currently work for Mangassa.
22-year-old Mamadou Camara, 22-year-old Issa Traoré and 23-year-old Madassa Kebe lived in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and were having difficulty finding work. Their families had helped them raise money for the Atlantic journey to Europe via Guinea-Bissau, but a smuggler there had disappeared with the money, they said.
They decided to return home via Senegal, where they met Mangassa.
“I empathized with them because I know what it’s like to work hard when your family depends on you and still not be able to make ends meet,” Mangassa said. “I wanted to show them that there are opportunities for young people here.”
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