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Launch of #EmpowerYouth4Food Campaign: Inspiring youth in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh to innovate and shape the future of sustainable food production   

PRESS RELEASE 

22 April 2021 

Countries in Southeast Asia face similar problems in modernizing food production and food security. The agricultural sector does not have a reputation that matches its importance. It is seen as old-fashioned and not offering an attractive future prospect. This is a reality reflected in education, especially in Technical & Vocational Education and Training (TVET). Teaching methodologies and curricula are lagging, and teachers are ageing. The agriculture sector in Southeast Asia needs young people to become more involved and shape a future for food production based on principles of sustainability. 

Nuffic and the Netherlands Education Support Offices (Neso) in Indonesia and Vietnam, together with Netherlands (NL) alumni associations and networks, and Dutch coalition partners, today launched the #EmpowerYouth4Food campaign. Over 250 participants from seven countries took part in the launch. 

The campaign aims to inspire the young generation in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh to become more involved and shape a future for food production based on principles of sustainability. 

The message is that agriculture is a modern sector, increasingly involving technology and offering great opportunities for young people to find interesting and meaningful employment or start a business. 

Prof. Dr. Dedi Nursyamsi, DG Agency for Agricultural Extension and Human Resources Development of the Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture stated that “The low interest of youth in the agricultural sector is a challenge, both in employment and entrepreneurship, both on-farm and off-farm. Youth is needed to develop the agriculture sector in industry 4.0 to substitute old farmers because they are more competitive, responsive to technology, more adaptable and creative.” 

This statement was echoed by H.E. Minister Carola Schouten, Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. “A job in agri-food sector can be attractive and meaningful, and who better to tell the story than young agri-food professionals from Southeast Asia themselves.” 

Minister Schouten further added, “I fully support the campaign, and I hope that many youths will discover that the agri-food sector is all about innovation through cooperation. Because designing and developing a sustainable food system means working together. It also means building on our close international relations and promoting our mutual interest.” 

The launch gathered a panel of agri-food professionals from a start-up, established business, an NGO, and government to discuss about the need to promote youth engagement in agriculture and food systems in Southeast Asia and Bangladesh.  

Tissa Aulia, CEO Pipiltin Cocoa advised young people who would like to start a business in agriculture to start small, and at the same time start writing a simple and feasible business plan. 

The one-year campaign will unfold throughout the region and include inspiring stories of NL alumni working in the field of agriculture, alumni talks and seminars, and a Southeast Asia Virtual Career Fair. 

The campaign also features the Changemaker Challenge, which encourages students from vocational- up to university level to come up with ideas to stimulate innovations for a sustainable agri-food value chain in the region. The winners of the challenge will be awarded with prize money to turn their innovative ideas into reality. The deadline of proposal submission for the challenge is 21 June 2021. 

For more details, visit https://www.empower-youth4food.com/  

Join the conversation using the hashtag #EmpowerYouth4Food on social media platform. 

For more information, contact: nburki@nuffic.nl or Anasthasia.Rosye@nesoindonesia.or.id