Youth in organic agriculture in Samoa
A small island development state (SIDS), approximately 64% of Samoa’s population is less than 30 years of age. In addition to supporting such a large number of youth to make the successful transition to productive employment, the Pacific Island country must also tackle food security as reliance on imports increases and agricultural yields continue to decrease.
The programme
This SDG Fund programme is led by UNDP, in partnership with IFAD. The goal is to assist young people, including vulnerable youth who have not completed their formal education and are more likely to be limited in terms of employment to casual and low-pay work.
The approach
The Joint Programme assists the Government of Samoa in its priority to tackle youth unemployment, and the negative impact of this on the social and economic development. The programme:
- Creates employment opportunities for youth in organic agriculture through a value chain approach utilizing public private partnerships within the key economic sectors of agriculture and tourism.
- Enables scaled-up engagement by youth in organic farming to be sustained on commercial viable basis through the development of a value-added processing facility that provides skills training, knowledge transfer and employment for youth.
- Strengthens the institutional capacity of the local organizations, including the Samoa National Youth Council to effectively meet the needs of youth seeking information and employment within the organic agricultural sector.
- Shares information and knowledge from across the Pacific region to facilitate synergies that will result in increased employment opportunities for youth within organic agriculture value chains.
Quick facts
Total programme budget: $1 million
% funded by SDG-F: 50%
UN agencies: UNDP and IFAD
National partners: Government ministries, POETCom, Samoa National Youth Council
Duration: 1 November 2015 to 30 April 2018
Key facts
64% of Samoa’s population is less than 30 years of age
The unemployment rate for youth, at 16% is almost double the national unemployment rate of 8.7 %
55 years is the average Samoan farmer's age