Godfrey Bahiigwa on the issues of rural youth employment

The African Union Commission is supports the donor initiatives to support rural youth employment. But at the same time the Commission faces different challenges, limiting its capacity to advise national states. One of the biggest challenges is the missing evidence and knowledge base on rural youth employment issues. The youth group is diverse and the conditions and challenges to employment differ from region to region and from country to country. More research exploring the opportunities for employment is required to support policy decision making and advocacy.

The African Union Commission sees the role of the donor agencies mainly in supporting the inclusion of rural youth employment issues in the national states' agriculture investment plans and the establishment of data systems and methodologies to track unemployment and impact of policies for job creation.