Purpose – Agricultural education and training (AET) institutions will play a strategic role in helping to
prepare Africa’s rapidly growing youth populations for productive careers in agriculture and related
agri-businesses. The purpose of this paper is to examine the magnitude of skills and youth employment
needs emanating from high-population growth rates. It then explores how agricultural education
institutions are responding to these challenges in four different countries at different levels of food
system development: South Africa tier 1, Tanzania in tier 2 and Malawi and Uganda in tier 3.
Design/methodology/approach – Demographic and school enrollment data provide information on
themagnitude of jobmarket entrants at different levels of education while Living StandardsMeasurement
Studies in the respective countries provide a snapshot of current skill requirements in different segments
of the agri-food system. In order to evaluate AET responses, the authors have conducted country-level
reviews of AET systems as well as in-depth assessments at key tertiary AET institutions in each of the
four case study countries.
Findings – Growth rates in primary school enrollments are high in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same
time, because of budgetary constraints, transition rates decline rapidly – about 40 percent from
primary to secondary and 7 percent from secondary to tertiary. As a result, substantial numbers of
primary and secondary school graduates seek jobs.
Research limitations/implications – The case study countries are limited to four. Had more
financial resources and time been available, researchers could have spread further afield and in so
doing increasing the precision of the results.
Originality/value – Estimation of the number of primary and secondary school leavers seeking
employment because of failure to proceed to the next level of education. Estimation of the level of
education shares in the various components of the agri-food system.
Keywords Africa, Youth employment, Agricultural education and training,
Agriculture in primary and secondary education
Paper type Research paper