Journal of Rural Studies 76 (2020) 142–151
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Rural Studies
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jrurstud
Hard work and hazard: Young people and agricultural commercialisation in T
Africa☆
Thomas Yeboaha, Easther Chigumirab, Innocensia Johnc, Nana Akua Anyidohod,
Victor Manyonge, Justin Flynnf, James Sumbergf,∗
a African Rights Initiative International, Accra, Ghana
b Independent consultant, Harare, Zimbabwe
cUniversity of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
d Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
e International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
f Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, UK
A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T
Keywords: An emerging orthodoxy supports the proposition that the rural economy – built around agriculture but en-
Transformation compassing much more – will serve as sweet spot of employment opportunities for many millions of young
Intensification people into the foreseeable future. However, our understanding of how rural young people in Africa take ad-
Young people vantage of processes of rural transformation or engage with the rural economy is limited. Drawing on qualitative
Africa research conducted with 117 rural young people in three country contexts (Ghana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania),
Zimbabwe
Ghana this paper reports the findings on the steps and pathways through which young people construct livelihoods in
Tanzania hotspots of agricultural commercialisation. Overall what emerges from a diversity of backgrounds, experiences
and pathways is that the commercialised rural economy within which they operate offer them a variety of
income earning opportunities. Family and broader social relations are key in enabling young people to access the
needed resources in the form of land, capital, and inputs to begin their ventures. Between family and rental
markets, there is little evidence that young people’s engagement with crop production is limited by their in-
ability to access land. We also find evidence of asset accumulation by young people in the form of housing,
furniture and savings among others, which reflects the combination of relatively dynamic rural economies,
enabling social relations, and hard work. However, for many it is a struggle to stay afloat, requiring effort,
persistence, and an ability to navigate setbacks and hazards. Our findings challenge a number of assumptions
underlying policy and public discourse around rural young people and employment in Africa. We highlight some
key implications for policy seeking to promote youth employment in rural Africa.
1. Introduction people and others, agriculture in Africa must be transformed. In most
accounts, the transformation that is envisaged is described in terms of
The argument that the rural economy – built around agriculture, but intensification and commercialisation, and involving one or more of the
encompassing much more – can and must provide employment op- following: increasing use of technology (including genetics, fertiliser,
portunities for many millions of African youth for decades to come has mechanisation and ICTs), engagement with national, regional and
been carefully articulated by Filmer and Fox (2014) amongst others. global markets and value chains, more active land markets, en-
Indeed, what might be called the ‘rural prosperity gospel’ has become a trepreneurship, greater business orientation, and increasing importance
principle pillar of policy discourse around Africa's youth employment of processing and value addition (Filmer and Fox, 2014). The theory is
crisis (e.g. AGRA, 2015; FAO et al., 2014). that rural areas where such transformational processes take root will
An essential element of the argument is that in order to provide provide more and more diverse farm and non-farm employment op-
decent or simply secure and remunerative employment for young portunities for young people. A number of interventions are commonly
☆ This research was funded by the Agricultural Policy Research in Africa (APRA) Programme of the Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC). APRA is funded by the
UK Department for International Development (DFID). Additional support came through a grant from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
∗ Corresponding author. Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, BN1 9RE, UK.
E-mail address: j.sumberg@ids.ac.uk (J. Sumberg).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.04.027
Received 5 September 2019; Received in revised form 2 March 2020; Accepted 14 April 2020
Available online 22 April 2020
0743-0167/ © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license 
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/BY-NC-ND/4.0/).
T. Yeboah, et al. Journal of Rural Studies 76 (2020) 142–151
promoted to enable young people to take advantage of opportunities 2. Framework, methods and sites
arising from such rural transformation, including technical and en-
trepreneurship training, financial literacy, savings groups, and easier 2.1. Framework
access to land, credit, information and markets (FAO et al., 2014).
To date there has been little research looking specifically at how In addition to the large literature on agricultural and rural trans-
rural young people in Africa engage with or are affected by processes of formation (Binswanger-Mkhize and Savastano, 2017; IFAD, 2016;
rural transformation. There are some notable exceptions, including a Jayne et al., 2018) and the much more limited research literature on the
handful of studies looking at land (Berckmoes and White, 2014; Bezu livelihoods of young rural Africans (Andersson Djurfeldt et al., 2019;
and Holden, 2014; Kosec et al., 2018), although these are more about Chamberlin et al., 2018; Honwana, 2012; IFAD, 2019; Yeboah and
population pressure than commercialisation. Specifically, there is little Jayne, 2018), this analysis is rooted in a local economy perspective on
evidence concerning how young people in commercialised rural areas agricultural commercialisation. In contrast to approaches that focus on
establish themselves in the rural economy; and how these processes, the individual, farm, commodity or sector (Hinderink and Sterkenburg,
pathways and outcomes are affected by social difference including 1987; Poulton, 2017), a local economy perspective starts with economic
gender. and employment opportunities associated with the commercialisation
If commercialisation increases the value of land, it might be ex- of agricultural production, but it also encompasses the activities that
pected that this would create a barrier to young people who want to get support (e.g. seed and fertiliser sales) and/or add value (e.g. marketing
into crop production. Similarly, young people, as small scale, poorly processing and transportation) to this production. It includes all the
capitalised and inexperienced producers, might be expected to have other economic activities that are enabled by or linked to agricultural
more difficulty meeting the more stringent market requirements asso- commercialisation such as businesses offering goods or services that are
ciated with value chains. On the other hand, a diversified rural purchased with income derived directly or indirectly from commer-
economy supported by agricultural commercialisation might be ex- cialisation, and policies at various levels that impact agricultural
pected to provide greater opportunity for non-farm self- and wage commercialisation and intensification. Agricultural commercialisation
employment. Do young people use non-farm income to overcome bar- as a place-based economic and rural development phenomenon is about
riers to entry into agricultural production, or do they stay clear of much more than producing and selling agricultural products, and
farming? therefore the commonly used Household Crop Commercialisation
The objective of this paper is to shed new light on how young people Index2 is of limited value.
in Africa engage with the rural economy. The analysis draws from three Using this perspective, and building on the framework provided by
studies undertaken through Agricultural Policy Research for Africa Wiggins and Proctor (2001), it is instructive to consider two stylised
(APRA), which is a 5-year research programme funded by the UK local rural economies – one a commercialisation ‘cold’ spot, where
Department for International Development (DFID). Overall APRA fo- agricultural commercialisation is not well developed or intensive, the
cuses on the social and economic effects of different pathways and other a ‘hot’ spot where commercialisation is well developed. In the
models of agricultural commercialisation over time.1 Using a common commercialisation cold spot, we would expect that, aside from domestic
methodology, 117 rural young people from sites in Ghana, Tanzania work, the local economy is dominated by small farm production based
and Zimbabwe were interviewed, with a particular focus on how they primarily on family labour, with perhaps some very limited use of
came to engage with the rural economy (Chigumira, 2019; John and agricultural wage labour. Both the farm-service economy and the non-
Manyong, 2019; Yeboah, 2019). In this paper we synthesise findings farm economy are limited, and they provide few economic opportu-
across the three sites. What emerges from a diversity of backgrounds, nities for young people (or anyone else). If they are not farming on their
experiences and pathways is that the commercialised rural economies own account or working on the family farm, young people may leave
within which they operate offer them a variety of options and oppor- the local economy by moving to other rural areas and/or urban areas in
tunities. Within these contexts, young people take advantage of mul- search of opportunities. Money, goods, knowledge, skills etc. may flow
tiple opportunities for self- and wage employment, on and off the farm. back to the local rural economy as a result.
Many call on their family and wider social networks to gain access to In a commercialisation hot spot, while farm production continues to
land, capital and experience. Between family and rental markets, there be important, it is a smaller part of the story. In addition to greater
is little evidence that young people's engagement with crop production demand for wage labour on farms, there are opportunities for non-farm
is limited by their inability to access land. However, for many it is a employment and self-employment. We would also expect these local
struggle to stay afloat, requiring hard work, persistence, and an ability economies to be more dynamic as indicated by, for example, more rapid
to navigate the setbacks and hazards (poor weather, sickness, family growth in individual and household incomes, and the development of
tragedy, bad luck, theft, business failure, etc.) that affect people of all new businesses and services. Nevertheless, like young people in com-
ages. There is evidence of modest asset accumulation by some young mercialisation cold spots, those in hot spots might also decide to ex-
people in these three contexts, for example in the form of residential plore and exploit different opportunities in other rural and/or urban
plots, housing and other buildings, furniture, farmland, vehicles, sav- areas.
ings, and children's education. If indeed there are more and a greater diversity of economic op-
The rest of the paper is organised as follows. The next section in- portunities for young people in the commercialisation hot spot, the
troduces three key ideas – agricultural commercialisation hot spots; the central questions become: which young people are able to take ad-
distinction between modes of engagement with the rural economy and vantage of these different opportunities, and how do they take the in-
individual economic activities; and the notion of hazard – before de- itial steps to engage with a highly commercialised local economy?
scribing the study methods and sites. The focus then turns to the find- In analysing young people's efforts to build their livelihoods, we
ings: how the participants engage with the rural economy, and how distinguish between ‘modes of engagement’ with the rural economy on
they established themselves; the importance of work experience during the one hand, and actual income generating ‘activities’ on the other.
childhood and disappointment around education; resource access; ha- Four possible modes of engagement are considered: (1) farm self-em-
zard; and outcomes and future plans. This is followed by a discussion, at ployment, (2) on-farm wage labour, (3) non-farm wage labour, and (4)
the end of which, some key implications are identified.
2 The Household Crop Commercialisation Index (HCCI) is usually computed
as the ratio of the gross value of all crop sales per household per year to the
1 See: https://www.future-agricultures.org/apra/. gross value of all crop production (Strasberg et al., 1999).
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non-farm self-employment or business operation. Within each of these Table 1
there are many possible activities: farm self-employment might entail Interviewee characteristics.
production of cereal crops, horticultural crops or purely commercial Characteristic Ghana Tanzania Zimbabwe
crops like cocoa, cashew or tobacco, while non-farm wage labour might
entail working in a hair dressing shop, as an assistant in a shop or M F M F M F
canteen, or as a house builder's helper. The assumption is that there are
Age
differential resource, knowledge and social barriers to entry, both be- 24 or younger 37% 25% 61% 63% 25% 50%
tween and within the different modes of engagement, which will have 25–30 37% 31% 39% 37% 40% 25%
important implications for who is able to take advantage of any given 31–55 26% 44% 0% 0% 55% 25%
opportunity.
Finally, we draw on Richards (1986) who put the notion of ‘hazard’ N 19 16 23 19 20 20
at the centre of his analysis of small-scale rice farming in Sierra Leone. Origin
Richards conceived of hazard as including accidents, weather events Native 47% 56% 35% 37% 40% 30%
and mistakes by rice farmers that have (or could have) negative im- Migrant 53% 44% 65% 63% 60% 70%
pacts, and in some cases, impacts that are cumulative. For Richards, a
N 19 16 23 19 20 20
family illness that then affects farming operations represents hazard, as
would early rains that disrupt land preparation, or a decision to plant a Education
late maturing variety in what turns out to be a dry year. As will become None 16% 13% 0% 11% 0% 0%
evident, young people's efforts to initiate, sustain, and grow their in- Some primary or junior secondary 53% 81% 83% 84% 75% 95%
come generating activities can also be badly affected by hazard. The Some senior secondary or tertiary 32% 6% 17% 5% 25% 5%
notion of hazard has much in common with the idea of ‘idiosyncratic N 19 16 23 19 20 20
risks’ (or idiosyncratic shocks) in the economics literature (Dercon and
Krishnan, 2000), which affect only one individual, household or family. Relationship status
An important difference between hazard and idiosyncratic shock is that Single/no relationship 37% 25% 70% 32% 25% 30%
Married or in a relationship 63% 75% 30% 37% 75% 65%
Richards included mistakes in the former, while they play no part on Divorced or separated 0% 0% 0% 32% 0% 0%
the latter. Widowed 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 5%
N 19 16 23 19 20 20
2.2. Methods
The research was organised around two questions: (1) in commer- age, origin (local or migrant), and years of formal education. A de-
cialisation hotspots, what pathways do young people use to get them- scription of the interviewees in relation to these markers is shown in
selves started in economic activities? and, (2) how are the pathways Table 1.
available and outcomes experienced influenced by factors of social
difference, including gender? Three commercialisation hot spots were 2.3. Sites
identified: Techiman North District in Brong Ahafo, Ghana; Dumila
Ward in Morogoro, Tanzania; and Mvurwi farming area, Mazowe In Ghana the study was conducted in the Tuobodom and Adutwie
District, Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe. Together they re- communities, Techiman North District, Brong Ahafo Region.4 Tuo-
present some of the historical and agro-ecological diversity within bodom, with a population of about 13,700, is the administrative capital
which agricultural commercialisation is intensifying. of the district which is situated in the central part of the region. It is an
A snowball sampling strategy was used with the objective of cap- active centre for the marketing of agricultural produce. The influx of
turing a broad range of modes of engagement, economic activities, and traders from within and outside Ghana to the weekly market is a sig-
social and economic backgrounds. The focus was on individuals who nificant driver of agricultural commercialisation and other economic
could be considered in the early stages of livelihood building. In prac- activities. Adutwie is a small settlement (population of about 700) si-
tice the samples included individuals aged from 16 to 35 years. While tuated along a stretch of road five miles from Tuobodom. Both Tuo-
the upper end of this range is pushing the limit for youth and young bodom and Adutwie are relatively well connected by year-round feeder
people, we wanted to include them because they can provide insights roads to the town of Techiman, one of the two biggest urban centres in
into livelihood pathways. Further, Honwana's claim that ‘the majority the region and a major market centre for agricultural produce.
of young Africans today live in waithood’ (2012, p.20; 2019, p.8), if Agricultural commercialisation was already evident around
true, would suggest the need to consider those individuals whose Tuobodom in the 1960s. With its open vegetation and relatively small
chronological age might be outside standard definitions of youth. trees, it was a more suitable environment for commercial agriculture
Data were collected through individual interviews, with 35, 42 and than the high forest further south. At the time, the availability of land
40 interviews being completed in Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe re- enabled establishment of state-owned commercial farms, state-spon-
spectively. The same interview schedule was used across the three sites sored projects that promoted the use of modern farm inputs, and the
covering (1) the background of the interviewee, (2) a history of his/her development of large private farms. During this period there was in-
economic activities and (3) plans for the immediate and more distant vestment in infrastructure to support agricultural commercialisation,
future. On average, interviews lasted between 50 and 60 min. Before including input distribution depots, mechanised ploughing services, a
each interview, a statement of consent covering the objectives and canning factory, the road network and irrigation. By the 1970s this
expectations of the interview was read in the local language. Permission infrastructure was fully established, and in nearby Wenchi, ‘large pri-
was sought to record the interviews with a digital audio recorder. The vate farms began to develop around the state farms, encouraged by the
audio files were transcribed, and the transcripts compared with the cheapness of land and availability of subsidised inputs distributed by
audio recordings to ensure accuracy. QDA Miner Lite software was used government agencies’ (Amanor and Pabi, 2007: 56). The 1970s also saw
to code the interview transcripts.3
The key markers of social difference used in this study were gender,
4 After a referendum in December 2018 on the creation of new administration
regions, the erstwhile Brong Ahafo Region was split into three new regions. The
3 https://provalisresearch.com/products/qualitative-data-analysis-software/. study site is in the current Bono East Region.
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T. Yeboah, et al. Journal of Rural Studies 76 (2020) 142–151
a revamp of collapsed state farms and government-led commercial employment; it is characterised by small-scale crop production (food
agricultural projects, alongside investment by agribusiness en- and cash crops), plantations and estates (sisal and sugar) and livestock
trepreneurs and state bureaucrats (Konings, 1986). production (mainly cattle, goats, sheep, poultry) (United Republic of
A decade later, in the 12 months from August 1982 to May 1983, Tanzania, 2012). Vegetable crops like tomato and onions are also im-
the region experienced drought and a lengthy harmattan period that portant. However, Dumila also has a bustling off-farm and non-farm
resulted in widespread bushfires. By destroying cocoa trees, the fires re- rural economy, with its market being central to the district and broader
opened land for food crop production in marginal cocoa areas like those region, and its agricultural input dealers, bars, restaurants and trans-
around Techiman North. The 1980s also saw the adoption of neoliberal port services.
economic policies and led to the removal of agricultural input subsidies. In Zimbabwe the study site was the Mvurwi farming area (pre-
This severely affected all farming activities including those of state viously known as the Mvurwi Intensive Conservation Area), Mazowe
farms, large private farms and smallholders (Amanor and Pabi, 2007). District, Mashonaland Central Province. Located approximately 100 km
Today, with favourable agro-ecological conditions, the area receives north of the capital, Harare, the area is serviced by a small urban centre,
state support including extension services, input subsidies, and infra- Mvurwi town, which is one of the administrative centres for the pro-
structure development. Techiman North District is well known for food vince.
production and foodstuff commerce (Asuming-Brempong et al., 2013). Mvurwi is located in the high-altitude region (Highveld) and is
Agriculture and related economic activities provide livelihoods for characterised by savannah type vegetation. The area straddles agro-
most people in the Tuobodom and Adutwie sites. Current estimates ecological region II,5 which receives in the range of 700–1050 mm of
suggest that more than half (55 percent) of the economically active rainfall per annum and is considered to have high potential for farming.
labour force are engaged in agriculture (Techiman Municipal Assembly, It is dominated by sandy soils derived mostly from granite, which are
2016), including in crop and livestock production, fisheries and agro- suitable for intensive tobacco production (Sukume et al., 2015). The
forestry. Tomato and green pepper have joined yam, sweet potatoes, area includes both commercial and smallholder farms: smallholder crop
cassava, cocoyam, maize and plantain as important food crops. Other production is largely dependent on rainfall, while the larger commer-
commercial crops include cashew, cocoa, mango and orange. cial farms supplement with irrigation. A range of crops, including to-
For the most part, families hold agricultural land in Tuobodom and bacco, maize, soybeans and horticultural crops, are grown, and
Adutwie, while individual family members hold use rights. Under the ranching is also practised.
matrilineal system largely practiced in the area, the preferred heir of a Agricultural commercialisation dates to the period between 1890
man is his eldest sister's son (Hill, 1970: 123). The practice of ma- and 1930, when European settlers established commercial farms and
trilineal inheritance does not guarantee that young people will inherit mines in the district (Kwashirai, 2006). In 1907, the British South
land from their own fathers unless it is a gift of his personal land made African Company, which managed the colony, launched a commercial
during his lifetime. In their study of young tomato growers at a nearby farming programme focused on tobacco, maize, cotton, wheat, sor-
site in Brong Ahafo, Okali and Sumberg (2012) observed that the rental ghum, groundnuts and sunflower. By 1909, a Department of Agri-
of plots was frequent during the dry season. Kidido et al. (2017) note culture was established as well as key technical institutions such as
that purchasing land is not an option for many young people in agricultural research stations which provided extension service support
Techiman because of high cost and, in any case, land sales are in- to white farmers (Kwashirai, 2006). The colonial government estab-
frequent. lished a Land Bank in 1912, which was critical to settler success as it
In Tanzania the study took place in Dumila Ward, in the Kilosa provided them with subsidised credit (Kwashirai, 2006). The produc-
District of Morogoro Region. With a total population of around 34,000, tion of tobacco and maize received major research and financial support
the ward is located 69 km northwest of Morogoro town and 300 km because of their commercial and food value respectively.
west of Dar es Salaam. It is on the plains of the Mkindu River and is at During the colonial era and through the post-independence period
the junction of three main tarmac roads: one goes to Kilosa town, one to before the Fast Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) of 2000, close
the national capital Dodoma, and one to the city of Morogoro. Another to 84 percent of commercial farming within the Mvurwi area was
important transport link in Kilosa district is the Dar es Salaam-Kigoma concentrated on tobacco production, alongside maize, wheat and soy-
railway that runs through Kilosa town. bean production (Scoones et al., 2018). Beef production for export to
The district was historically known as a centre for sisal production, the European market was another key activity. The state supported
which was initiated in the 19th century under the German adminis- white commercial farmers through a variety of policies and subsidy
tration and later expanded under the British. When production peaked programmes.
in 1964 at around 250,000 tonnes, Tanzania was the world's largest Under the FTLRP the Government of Zimbabwe resettled 5290
exporter of sisal (Kimaro et al., 1994; Westcott, 2009). However, by people from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities (Matondi and Chikulo,
1985 sisal production had fallen to only 32,000 tonnes, due to bu- 2012), which resulted in a tri-modal agrarian structure of commercial
reaucracy, over-centralization, and the increasing popularity of syn- (A2 schemes), smallholder (A1 schemes) and communal (smallholder
thetic fibres (Kimaro et al., 1994; Sabea, 2011). The decline of sisal and/or subsistence) farming. Subsequently, new farmers and new
production had important consequences for agriculture in Kilosa dis- models of commercial agriculture have emerged including several high
trict: in the 1990s, the sisal estates were converted to paddy and maize capital investment joint ventures. Production following the FTLRP has
production, and later in the 2000s horticulture was introduced. continued to focus on tobacco, albeit now by smallholder producers.
This favoured location with its excellent transportation links gives However, since most smallholders, particularly A1 farmers, do not have
the ward a strong comparative advantage in relation to agricultural capital, they enter into contract farming arrangements with tobacco
commercialisation and associated activities. Economic activities in- buying companies (Scoones et al., 2018). Profits from tobacco sales
clude farming and livestock keeping, trading of agricultural and other gave many smallholder farmers disposable income that they in turn
products, transportation, and many others. Lorries plying the route invested in small and medium enterprises such as grocery shops, saw-
between the cities of Dodoma and Morogoro stop in Dumila, and mills, food outlets, hairdressing salons, butcheries, beer-halls and
agricultural produce such as vegetables and fresh maize is sold along
the main Dodoma-Morogoro road. There is a daily market in Dumila
village where products including clothes, agricultural goods, and home 5 Zimbabwe's agro-ecological regions reflect rainfall regime, soil quality and
appliances are available. There are many migrants in the Dumila area, vegetation, which map to farming types and potential productivity. Most
in part because of the ready availability of land for farming. agriculture in Zimbabwe is located in Regions I, II and III, which have fa-
Agriculture remains the economic mainstay and main source of vourable conditions for intensive crop and animal production (Mayo, 2000).
145
T. Yeboah, et al. Journal of Rural Studies 76 (2020) 142–151
Fig. 1. Shares of mode of production by age, gender and site.
Fig. 2. Shares of modes of engagement.
hardware shops. Mvurwi town serves as a commercial centre with input of engagement by site. Farm self-employment accounted for just over
suppliers, transporters and others serving the needs of commercial half of the reported engagements in Zimbabwe and less than 30 percent
farming within the district. There has been a notable increase in the in Tanzania, where non-farm self-employment accounted for 43 per-
town's economic vibrancy since land reform. cent. On-farm wage labour was twice as frequent in Ghana compared to
either Tanzania or Zimbabwe (see Fig. 2).
The share of interviewees reporting only one mode of engagement
3. Youth engagement with the rural economy ranged from 48 percent (Zimbabwe) to 60 percent (Ghana), and only in
Tanzania did an appreciable share (12 percent) report more than two
3.1. What they are doing, and who is doing what modes of engagement. The share of interviewees who engaged in farm
self-employment ranged from 49 percent (Ghana) to 70 percent
While not necessarily representative of the broader population of (Zimbabwe), but relatively few were only producers (11, 12 and 20
young people, the 117 interviewees were selected purposively to cap- percent in Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe respectively). In both Ghana
ture markers of social difference and a range of economic activities and Tanzania, around half of individuals did not engage as producers,
across the four modes of engagement. Fig. 1 shows the shares of modes
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T. Yeboah, et al. Journal of Rural Studies 76 (2020) 142–151
Table 2
Activities associated with the different modes of engagement.
Mode of engagement Activity
Ghana Tanzania Zimbabwe
Farm self-employment • Commercial crops: cocoa & cashew • Food crops (for sale &/or consumption): rice, • Commercial crops: tobacco• Food crops (for sale &/or maize, pigeon pea, millet, beans. • Food crops (for sale &/or consumption):
consumption): yam, maize, groundnut, • Vegetables (primarily for sale): tomatoes, maize, soya beans, beans, potatoes
millet carrots, green paper, onions. • Vegetables (primarily for sale)• Vegetables (primarily for sale): tomato, • Livestock: pigs, chicken, goats,
pepper, green paper, garden egg
On-farm wage labour • Cashew harvesting; working on pig • Planting & harvesting vegetables; paddy • Tobacco planting, weeding, spraying,
farm; day labour harvesting; working on parents' farm harvesting and grading; maize planting,
weeding and harvesting
Non-farm wage labour • Food processing: gari ‘factory’ worker • Catering: bar manager, helper at street food • Catering: canteen assistant• Catering: chop-bar attendant stall • Petty trade: flea market attendant• Services: security guard, transporter of • Shop work: barber, shop worker • Shop work: till operator, hardware shop
agric. products with motor tricycle • Services: market porter, helper at milling worker, hardware shop manager,
machine, motorcycle driver, house builder, shopkeeper
toilet digger, stump remover • Services: bricklayer, teacher, cell phones
repairer
Non-farm self-employment/ • Food prep. &/or sale: porridge, kenkey, • Food prep. &/or sale: street food, snacks • Petty trade: fruit & vegetables, flea
business operator fish • Petty trade: food crops, tomatoes, chickens, market• Petty trade: farm produce, vegetables used clothing, electronic goods • Shop: grocery, motor spare parts, farm• Food/drink processing: gari, pito • Shop: soft drinks, bar, grocery, barbershop, inputs, butchery, hardware & farm equip,• Commodity trading/buying agent: phone repair, phone charging used tractors
cashew • Commodity trading/buying agent: maize • Services: lorry hire, transport/taxi,• Services: hairdresser, transport of agric. • Services: credit provision, car repair, grinding mill
products with motor tricycle, hiring of motorcycle transport
sound system • Small manufacture: bricks, furniture
Note: Many activities were reported by more than one interviewee.
while in Zimbabwe this was 30 percent. more likely to only do this, and more involved in on-farm wage labour;
Activities associated within the individual modes of production are while the under 25s were less likely to be involved in farm self-em-
shown in Table 2. The range of crops grown, and activities undertaken ployment only, and more involved in self-employment. Finally, in
is wide. Clearly these young people are engaged in many aspects of the Zimbabwe, men were more involved in non-farm self-employment,
rural economy, and their activities extend well beyond agricultural while the over 24s were more involved in farm self-employment and
production. less involved in on-farm labour and non-farm wage labour. Locals were
Detailed information on the scale, success or income generated by more involved in farm self-employment and less involved on non-farm
the various modes of production or activities was not consistently col- wage labour, and those with more education were more likely to be
lected. We cannot therefore discuss their relative importance or their involved in farm self-employment only, less likely to be diversified, and
contribution to individual livelihoods. However, many and perhaps less involved in on-farm wage labour.
most of these activities have low barriers to entry, require relatively By contrast, there was little indication that these markers of social
limited skills and limited technology, and appear to be undertaken on a difference helped explain the specific economic activities undertaken.
small scale. Further, some are undertaken on an occasional, part-time or The exceptions were that almost all those doing day labour on farms in
seasonal basis. At the level of the individual young person, there is also Ghana were male migrants, but this was likely influenced to some de-
a certain amount of fluidity between modes of engagement and activ- gree by the snowball sampling strategy. Also at this site, the vast ma-
ities. jority of those involved in food or drink preparation and sales through
Some notable exceptions to this generalisation include the produc- self-employment were women, while those involved in these activities
tion of commercial crops (cocoa and cashew in Ghana, and tobacco in through wage work were all migrant women. In Tanzania, only women
Zimbabwe); commercial livestock production; owning a motorcycle or planted and harvested vegetables for wages, while the majority of those
motor vehicle for provision of transport services; doing business from a doing any kind of on-farm labour work were migrants.
shop premises; commodity trading (e.g. cashew in Ghana, maize in
Tanzania), and teaching. These activities have higher barriers to entry 3.2. Starting out: experience at home and disappointment around education
in terms of long-term access to land, skill and/or capital.
The key markers of social difference used in this study were gender, The interviewees' entry into the rural economy was shaped, in large
age, origin (local or migrant), and years of formal education. There was part, by (1) the skills and experience gained earlier in life and (2) dis-
evidence that, within the three sites, the markers of social difference appointment with school careers. Interviews provided numerous ex-
were associated with different modes of engagement. In Ghana, men amples of young people acquiring basic skills and experience from fa-
were engaged with the rural economy more through on-farm wage la- mily members. Across the three sites, many interviewees linked their
bour, and women through non-farm wage labour. The sub-groups of current activities to skills they learned while helping relatives with
locals and young people over 24 years were more engaged with farm farming or other activities. These experiences provided them with the
self-employment but were also more diversified (having more than one few marketable skills they had. The most common experience was
mode of engagement), and less involved in on-farm wage labour. Those helping parents or other relatives on their farms. A male interviewee
with less education were more involved in farm self-employment, more from Zimbabwe said:
diversified, more engaged in non-farm self-employment, and less in-
volved in on-farm wage labour. In Tanzania, women were more in- ‘I got the passion for agriculture from my grandmother whom I used
volved in farm self-employment and less involved in non-farm wage to visit during holidays and assist her farming activities and so
labour. The over 24s were more engaged with farm self-employment, gaining the skills, and also from my experience from our own farm.
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My father retired from the banking sector to undertake full time others, a gift. One male in Ghana accessed capital from an MFI, while in
farming’. Zimbabwe three males took bank loans and one woman took a loan
Other examples include a 23-year old Ghanaian woman who from a savings group. There is some indication in all the countries that
learned gari-processing from her mother, and the 26-year old dependence on family and friends for capital decreases with age. While
Tanzanian who helped his uncle build houses and now does this as a the amounts of capital obtained were generally quite small and, in some
second job. A 23-year old woman from Ghana described how financial cases, took the form of physical inputs like seeds or cooking ingredients,
constraints prevented her from completing apprenticeship training to there were also a few examples of family members making significant
become a seamstress and compelled her to join the family pito brewing capital available: the parents of a 25 year-old male from Ghana pur-
business which her mother eventually turned over to her. Thus, early chased a motorised tricycle for him so he could start a transportation
experiences gained working with or for others provide a means of li- business. Another 25-year old from Ghana used a loan from a MFI to
velihood for young people as other options are closed off. purchase a similar tricycle.
Interviewees who are currently self-employed in the non-farm sector At all sites the two most common ways that interviewees reported
reported learning through unpaid work for friends and relatives. For accessing land for farming was through family (including in-laws) and
example, a 34-year old hardware shop owner was mentored by a friend by renting. The former accounted for 44, 36 and 44 percent of cases in
who had a similar business, while a 30-year old hairdresser, who also Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe respectively while renting accounted
sells porridge (a skill she learnt from her mother), attributes her ability for 44, 59 and 31 percent of cases respectively. In Ghana and Zimbabwe
to manage her small businesses to working as a young adult in local men were more likely to rent than women, while in Zimbabwe, women
restaurants. A variation on this general pattern is provided by a young were more likely to use land they accessed through family or in-
man in Ghana who holds a secondary school certificate. When he did heritance. In Ghana there were two cases of the use of share-crop ar-
not hear back from the rural bank to which he had applied for work he rangements that allowed interviewees to engage in potentially lucrative
joined his brother, an established tomato farmer, and learned to grow cashew production. Only one interviewee, a 25-year old man from
tomatoes. He eventually also gained access to an acre of land. In this Tanzania, reported that he had purchased the plot on which he farms.
young man's case, however, tomato farming went from being a default Other than the under 25-year olds in Zimbabwe accessing land more
to a preferred activity, to the extent that when the bank eventually commonly through family, and the same age group relying more
offered him a job he turned it down. heavily on renting in Ghana, there is little indication that age affects
The second theme that ran through the interviews was disappoint- how land is accessed.
ment with educational careers. Interviewees expressed dismay about
their inability to continue in education or training which, they believe, 3.4. Hazard
would have opened the prospect of skilled work or formal employment.
For many, financial difficulties or a lack of interest in school put an Hazard – accidents, weather events or mistakes – are experienced by
early end to their formal education. Others linked their poor school all rural residents. The need to navigate hazard is not unique to young
performance to the paid or unpaid work they did while studying which, people, but we might expect that they are potentially more vulnerable
ironically, was often undertaken to help defray the cost of their to the negative effects of hazards. Interviewees gave numerous ex-
schooling. In Zimbabwe a young woman recounted: amples of hazards across all modes of engagement and many differentactivities. These can be grouped into two categories.
“I used to work in people's fields when I was going to school so that I The first are personal, and most often health-related, hazards, in-
could afford school fees and other needs at school. At times I could cluding accidents, injuries, sickness and family tragedy. For example,
work on weekends and […] that was enough for me to buy sta- an unmarried, male university graduate from Tanzania explained that
tionary. I did this when my father was ill and could not provide for the main challenge with being a part-time worker was that most of the
me. My father was ill for about two years before he died. I could also jobs were seasonal and there were times when there was no work. Most
get employed as a house maid in town during the school holiday of the money he earned was used for food and rent which meant he was
[…] I could use that money to partly pay my school fees and my unable to save much. The other challenge was sickness – he sometimes
relatives could assist with the remainder. Unfortunately, last year I had to work even when he was unwell, and when he could not work, he
failed to raise money for myself and dropped out of school. had to rely on his meagre savings. After another interviewee from
Tanzania had finished primary school, he was employed by his brother-
in-law at a restaurant. He worked there for six months but had to stop
3.3. Accessing resources after falling seriously sick. Finally, a 24-year old man from Zimbabwe
recounted how family pressures has stalled his efforts to save towards
This section focuses on access to key resources to support economic furthering his education:
activity. Resource requirements vary significantly between modes of
engagement and individual activities: farm or non-farm wage labour I moved out to stay with my uncle in Mvurwi town after finishing
may require no specific resources other than physical strength, whereas school while looking for something to do in life. I wanted to sup-
other activities may require land, equipment, labour and other inputs, plement my O level subjects and proceed with education but, due to
or a shop and inventory. In general, resource requirements are limited financial difficulties, I could not do that. I started working in my
by the relatively small scale and nature of the activities. While inter- uncle's butcheries just to assist him. I was not earning a salary but
viewees referred to difficulties in accessing land and/or capital, most sometimes he would give me some money. In 2012 I went to do
seem to have succeeded in doing so to one degree or another, although mining as a mukorokoza (artisanal miner) and earned Z$50 to Z$100
it is not clear whether resource availability actually constrains the scale per week. I used the money to get a driver's license. My aim was to
or productivity of their activities. work and raise money and proceed with school, but I found out that
At each of the three sites the two most common ways that inter- the money would not sustain me because of many responsibilities – I
viewees reported accessing capital to initiate new activities was have my father with health problems since 2012 and young brother
through family or friends and from earnings or savings from their other who is still in school, and I need to assist them financially. So I put
work activities. Together these accounted for 69, 79 and 73 percent of off the plan for my education.
cases in Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, with family and friends alone The second category of hazards are business-related and include
accounting for 38, 54 and 30 percent of cases respectively. In some prolonged drought and unreliable rainfall, low demand for produce or
cases, capital from family and friends was in the form of a loan, and in services, theft, police harassment, non-payment, loss of savings,
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agronomic mistakes, and economic upheaval. For example, a 21-year send his children to school. In ten years' time, he wants to own land as
old male from Ghana lost his savings when the micro-finance institution this will prevent him from being chased away. Strikingly, although
he was saving with collapsed. In Tanzania, a 25-year old male set up a formal employment was mentioned by a few, migration out of the rural
shop selling phones after his Advanced Secondary Education exam, but environment did not figure at all prominently in their imagined futures
the business did not do well and he was forced to close it. At the time of or future plans.
the interview he was working part-time in his sister's shop. A male
interviewee from Zimbabwe narrated his experience of non-payment 4. Discussion and implications
for work done:
I found a job at a certain timber company; I do not remember its The picture that emerges across these three African agricultural
name. I decided to join that company so that I could at least have a commercialisation hot spots is one of young people working hard and
fixed, reliable source of income. I was assisted by my Form 4 actively engaging with the rural economy through a variety of modes
Woodwork teacher to get this job. I was one of the best woodwork and activities. In most cases the scale of these engagement is relatively
students at school […] The job was a good opportunity for me to small, and most activities are characterised by low barriers to entry and
apply what I learnt at school. The company specialized in timber low returns – exactly what we would expect to find in the early stages of
cutting. I worked for six months without being paid. At times we livelihood building.
could even work over-time. If we ask the employer about our sal- Several important differences were observed across the three sites.
aries, he could start accusing us about crimes we did not commit. I In terms of agriculture, in addition to a variety of food crops and li-
then informed my employer of my intention to quit. We agreed that vestock, young people were involved in purely commercial crops in
he would give me half of my six month's salary in kind. Ghana (cashew) and Zimbabwe (tobacco), while those in Tanzaniaproduced vegetables and rice primarily for sale. In contrast to the other
Whether working on one's own farm, as a wage worker, or a busi- sites, the Tanzanian site is still seen as offering ample opportunity to
ness operator, hazards such as these are part of daily life, and to na- access land, and thus still attracts new migrants.
vigate them successfully requires experience, social capital and, some- Nevertheless, there were also important commonalities. For ex-
times, the liquidation of hard-won assets. ample, young people at all sites engage in a wide range of farm and non-
farm, self-employment and wage activities. Engagement is some activ-
3.5. Outcomes and imagined futures ities is mediated by social markers like gender, but generally these rural
economies seem to offer young people a range of opportunities. To one
The interviews provide concrete evidence of active asset accumu- degree or another, crop and/or livestock production is in the activity
lation on the part of some individuals, in the form of, for example, mix of many young people.
residential plots, housing, furniture, motorcycles and motor tricycles, The critical role of family and friends in providing young people
savings, and children's education. It is also clear that significant work with initial access to key resources including capital, land and work
and business experience has been gained. Through hard work and opportunities is also evident across the three sites (also see Flynn and
persistence in the face of hazard, these young people have grasped one Sumberg, 2017). This is the case for both young men and young
or more of the opportunities offered by the commercialised rural women. Along similar lines, several interviewees reported undertaking
economy in order to help build their livelihoods. one or more of their economic activities together with a parent, sibling,
Interviewees often pointed to their ability to save money as a small spouse or other relative. Young people are co-constructing livelihoods
sign of success in those early steps in livelihood-building. Some young together with and through family members.
people convert savings from farming or wage-work into additional or At the same time, in each of the sites a significant number of young
alternative income-opportunities. A 22-year-old described doing do- people access farmland through short-term rental arrangements. While
mestic work in Dar es Salaam for a year before returning home to open the notion that young people are disadvantaged because they do not
a bar, using her savings as start-up capital. Others invest their savings ‘own’ land is common in the policy literature (AGRA, 2015; FAO,
into further education or training. Being able to pay for children's 2010), at least in these sites, between rental and family land, it is not at
schooling or support a household were also mentioned as important all obvious that constrained access to land is a significant issue. Among
gains, as was accumulating property. For example, a 22-year-old female the interviewees, young people who did not own land were involved in
reported that through her food-vending business, she was able to save commercial vegetable (Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe), rice (Tan-
in the community bank and had managed to rent a house and buy zania), cashew (Ghana) and tobacco (Zimbabwe) production, amongst
furniture. other crops. Being in a commercialised rural economy for a time, and
However, farming, self-employment and/or wage labour does not developing the right networks, enabled even immigrants to access land
always provide a viable livelihood. A young Zimbabwean and her fa- for commercial agriculture. This is not to say that these same ar-
mily were left struggling after the death of her mother. Her mother's rangements will necessarily be satisfactory into the future if, for ex-
income as a farmworker had allowed her daughter to complete her O ample, some individuals want to increase the scale of their activities or
Levels. Unfortunately, she failed her exams and could not pursue her invest in irrigation technology or tree crops. However, it does suggest
preferred career as a teacher. She started working off-farm for wages that the focus on ownership of land as one of the key constraints in the
and then married in 2014. The couple now farm full time but do not early stages of rural livelihood building may be misplaced.
grow enough to sell on a regular basis or provide them with regular Most of the young people interviewed in this study expressed dis-
income. appointed with their experience of formal education, and particularly
When asked about how they imagined their futures, the majority of having to drop out because they could not afford the fees (despite in
interviewees focused on plans to expand, diversify or, in some cases, many cases working at the same time as attending school). Rather than
stop their current activities. They also hoped to procure valued assets formal education, it was experience gained as children working at home
such as a building plot and house. Farming figured in the imagined that initially enabled them to engage with the world of work. Thus,
futures of many, as did non-farm self-employment and further educa- while many did not have a very favourable start regarding their
tion or training. In addition, marriage, children and children's educa- working lives, through hard work, applying the skills they accrued
tion were important in the future plans some interviewees. For ex- primarily as children, persistence and resilience in the face of hazard,
ample, a 29-year old Zimbabwean man who farms maize and tobacco they are able to build livelihoods and in some cases accumulate assets.
commercially said he wanted to be a dentist (doctor) but school was the While we can assume that some members of this cohort of young
problem. So now, he wants to work as hard as he can and continue to people have already migrated out, our data provide no indication that
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those remaining are driven by a strong desire to pack up and go. Quite CRediT authorship contribution statement
the contrary; overwhelmingly their plans for the future include ex-
pansion and/or diversification of activities within the rural economy. Thomas Yeboah: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation,
Additionally, to varying degrees these sites attract migrants, sometimes Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - original draft,
many from the same community. If as a young person you find yourself Writing - review & editing. Easther Chigumira: Conceptualization,
in a rural area with few prospects of formal employment, a commer- Methodology, Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft.
cialisation hot spot is probably as good as it gets. Innocensia John: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation,
On the other hand, there is little that emerges from these three sites Formal analysis, Writing - original draft. Nana Akua Anyidoho:
that looks like the young people have arrived in the sunny uplands Supervision, Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - original draft.
foretold in the rural prosperity gospel. For example, the idea of en- Victor Manyong: Supervision, Conceptualization, Methodology,
gagement with agricultural value chains is central to narratives about Writing - original draft. Justin Flynn: Conceptualization, Methodology,
rural transformation and decent work for youth. Reardon (2015) dis- Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - original draft,
tinguishes value chains from supply chains and suggests that the latter Writing - review & editing. James Sumberg: Supervision,
are associated with higher value products and value addition, safety Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing - original draft, Writing - re-
requirements and quality differentiation, while Toenniessen et al. view & editing.
(2008) link engagement with value chains to farmers converting ‘their
surpluses into value-added products and other profitable outputs’ Acknowledgement
(p.239). Many of the young people interviewed for this research were
involved in commercial activities around agricultural products, how- We would like to acknowledge the very helpful comments by
ever, little of this activity seemed to be associated with either quality Christine Okali and three anonymous reviewers.
differentiation or value addition. It is not that they are being excluded
from thriving and remunerative value chains, but rather that while References
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