Globally, youth employment fell by almost nine per cent in 2020 compared with 3.7 per cent for adults. And nowhere is the jobs gap more urgent than in Africa, where the median age is roughly 19 years old – half the equivalent in Europe at 42.5 years. Given that more than half of the continent’s population is expected to be under the age of 25 by 2050, creating sustainable livelihoods is a priority.
One sector that holds enormous potential for decent employment opportunities is aquatic food systems, which include aquaculture, capture fisheries and related supply chains. Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing food-producing sectors in the world, yet it currently employs just a fraction of young people. To fully unlock the possibilities for young people in aquatic food systems, African nations must commit to a fundamental transformation of food systems based on the “principles of sustainability, well-being and food sovereignty.”
Read the full commentary piece by Shakuntala Thilsted and Indika Arulingam on medium.com.
