In 2015-2016, a team of researchers conducted in-depth interviews with over 100 young men and women living in the rural dryland area of Midelt, Morocco. The goal was to obtain youth perspectives on the realities, challenges and aspirations of life in drylands and opportunities for making a living off agriculture.
In 2015-2016, a team of researchers conducted in-depth interviews with over 100 young men and women living in the rural dryland area of Midelt, Morocco. The goal was to obtain youth perspectives on the realities, challenges and aspirations of life in drylands and opportunities for making a living off agriculture.
In this video, Hamid and Hafida share their story. They talk about the difficulties in making a decent living from agriculture but also express their passion for working in the field. They also voice major concerns related to the lack of infrastructure in rural drylands and the need for more support from local and national decision makers.
This video highlights how important it is to listen to young people and incorporate their needs, views and policy discussions and decisions affecting agriculture developments in drylands. More research and activities with and for the youth in rural drylands areas are necessary to make agriculture an attractive and profitable endeavor for young people, who if they had the choice, would stay in their communities instead of migrating elsewhere in search of better opportunities.
Watch the video: What are the realities, aspirations and challenges of rural youth in dryland areas?
This research was conducted under the framework of the CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems and funded by the CGIAR Fund Donors, coordinated by Young Professionals for Agricultural Development (YPARD) and the research carried out by Bern University of Applied Sciences; School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (HAFL) . More information about the research on Youth and Agriculture in the Drylands – Realities, Viewpoints, Aspirations and Challenges of Rural Youth, here.
Picture credit: YPARD