MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Feed the Future Ethiopia Livelihoods for Resilience – Oromia Project A report for Catholic Relief Services Prepared by Lauren Servin September 2017 Photo: Kim Pozniak
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Implementing Partner ACRONYMS
ATJK Adami Tullu and Jido Kombolcha CBO community-based organization CRS Catholic Relief Services DFAP Development Food Aid Program DFSA Development Food Security Activity FGD focus group discussion GoE Government of Ethiopia IGA income-generating activity INGO international nongovernmental organization LRO Feed the Future Ethiopia Livelihoods for Resilience – Oromia Project MCS Meki Catholic Secretariat MFI microfinance institution NGO nongovernmental organization PIM project implementation manual PSNP Productive Safety Net Programme SACCO savings and credit cooperative SILC Savings and Internal Lending Communities SME small or medium-sized enterprise STD sexually transmitted disease ToT training of trainers TVET technical and vocational education and training CONTENTS
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...... 1 1.1 Context...... 1 1.2 Assessment overview...... 1 1.2.1. Objective...... 1 1.2.2. Methodology...... 1 1.2.3. Key findings...... 1 1.2.4. General recommendations...... 2 1.2.5. Recommendations for LRO...... 2
2 INTRODUCTION...... 3 2.1 Background...... 3 2.2 Background to LRO...... 3
3 OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY...... 4 3.1 Purpose...... 4 3.2 Study objectives...... 4 3.3 Definitions...... 4 3.4 Learning questions...... 5 3.5 Study methodology...... 5 3.6 Scope of the study...... 5 3.7 Populations size and sample procedure...... 7 3.8 Data collection procedures...... 7 3.9 Limitations to the research...... 8
4 BACKGROUND TO YOUTH SITUATION IN ETHIOPIA...... 9 4.1 Education...... 9 4.2 Employment...... 9 4.3 Access to land...... 9
5 STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS...... 10 5.1 Analysis of main findings chart...... 11 5.2 Community...... 11 5.2.1. Equity...... 12 5.2.2. Agency and empowerment...... 14 5.3 Further community opinions on how to empower youth...... 16 5.3.1. Access to resources...... 17 5.3.2. Experience with youth development programs...... 18 5.4 Government...... 18 5.4.1. Equity...... 19 5.4.2. Agency and empowerment...... 20 5.4.3. Access to resources...... 21 5.4.4. Experience with youth development programming...... 23
6 OVERALL ANALYSIS...... 26 6.1 Situation of youth...... 26 6.2 Job creation approach...... 26 6.3 Stakeholder capacity...... 26 6.4 Perceptions of youth livelihoods opportunities...... 26 6.5 Gender...... 27
7 CONCLUSIONS...... 28 7.1 General trends...... 28 7.2 Education...... 28 7.3 Resource scarcity and climate change...... 28 7.4 Government...... 28 7.5 Community perceptions...... 28
8 RECOMMENDATIONS...... 29 8.1 General recommendations...... 29 8.1.1. Value chain approach...... 29 8.1.2. Stakeholder support and capacity building...... 29 8.1.3. Access to capital...... 29 8.2 Recommendations specific to youth livelihoods programming...... 30 8.3 Recommendations for livelihood opportunities...... 30 8.3.1. Business, employment and life skills...... 30 8.3.2. Cooperative management...... 30 8.4 Livelihoods options...... 30 8.4.1. Agriculture-based livelihoods options and value chain possibilities...... 30 8.4.2. Specific skills training...... 31 8.5 Recommendations for access to finance...... 32 8.5.1. Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) partnership with the government and local banks...... 32 8.6 Recommendations for community engagement...... 34 8.7 Gender-specific prerequisite activities related...... 34 8.8 Recommendations for government engagement...... 35 8.8.1. Cooperatives and Marketing, and Pastoralist Development and Agriculture...... 35 8.8.2. Microfinance and Small Business...... 35 8.8.3. Youth and Sport, and Women and Child Welfare...... 35
REFERENCES...... 36
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1. Context This study was conducted by Catholic Relief Services as part of Feed the Future Ethiopia Livelihoods for Resilience – Oromia (LRO), a 5-year project aimed at supporting and enhancing the livelihood opportunities of chronically food insecure households.
1.2. Assessment overview This assessment provides findings from government offices and community members on the LRO project. It provides an overview of the findings from information collected during field surveys and secondary research. Analysis, conclusions and recommendations were provided for project interventions that could address the challenges of youth idleness and lack of productivity, through income generation and the improvement of livelihood activities. 1.2.1. Objective To better understand the perceptions of the stakeholders in youth development to inform interventions for youth livelihoods that would be supported by various stakeholders. 1.2.2. Methodology The main substance of this report is primary data collected in the project areas through house‑to‑house surveys, focus groups discussions and individual stakeholder interviews. Secondary data, encompassing current events and historical documents, was used as supporting information. The primary data outlines the perceptions of local government officers at the woreda level, and the perceptions of the community organized by the three Development Food Security Activity (DFSA) zones. 1.2.3. Key findings Activities initiated by other actors—and on which the LRO project could build—involved the formation of youth livelihood groups, savings activities and linking livelihood groups with microfinance institutions. Most of these activities were uncoordinated. Challenges to the success of these include but are not limited to lack of funding, lack of capacity to carry out activities, lack of investment in the area of youth livelihoods development by stakeholders, along with several social and environmental factors such as population increase and climate change, which have led to a lack of livelihood-appropriate resources that could support young people to become independent and self-sufficient. Although many more youth are educated today than previously, many respondents said most young people were unemployed due to a lack of appropriate jobs to match their education levels; this was found in both primary and secondary data. Appropriate jobs for educated youth have not kept pace with increased access to education. Many respondents agreed that young people would be productive when supported by resources to engage in small business, particularly related to agricultural activities in crop production and animal husbandry, despite some environmental concerns. The recommendations aim to provide solutions for creating a more comprehensive process for interventions across woredas, so that livelihoods improvements for youth can be more organized, coordinated and effective.
1 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 1.2.4. General recommendations Job creation is seen as a pathway towards young people’s independence. It appeared that there were not many businesses that could create new jobs and absorb unemployed young people. Therefore, it is necessary for youth to be given the tools to create their own jobs or engage in self-employment, with the aim of business growth creating further opportunities for other young people, who in turn will become job creators as their small enterprises grow. This is best done using a strategy that involves a value chain approach that focuses on anchor enterprises, such as value-added products (i.e. sesame oil, tomato paste, dried meat) or valuable services (i.e. vegetable wholesaler, slaughterhouse, retail market). These anchor enterprises work as catalysts that create demand for many enterprises to supply goods or services to create a final value- added product or service. The stakeholders in this study each have a different role to play in supporting the creation and functioning of these enterprises, such as playing a coordinating role, supporting linkages, supporting an enabling environment and using their expertise to engage in implementation. These actors will need capacity building in areas such as business development training and entrepreneurship. Also, once the specific sectors are selected, according to the most marketable products, appropriate technical trainings will be needed to support the existing expertise of the stakeholders to ensure that youth who engage in those sectors will be equipped with the necessary tools.
1.2.5. R ecommendations for LRO The Feed the Future Ethiopia Livelihoods for Resilience – Oromia project should focus on supporting an effort to lead and coordinate support for livelihoods development across the different stakeholders that are already involved in these activities, and for potential stakeholders looking to play a role in these activities. While the main sectors selected by the stakeholders in this survey were crop production (i.e. grain and vegetables) and animal husbandry, the LRO project should further select specific sectors on which youth can focus (i.e. mixed vegetables, goats, dairy). This could be done through a rapid market analysis of specific enterprises that are favored by young people. Once this analysis is complete, the LRO project could select two or three different value chains, in addition to the livestock value chain, on which to focus, and could also do a basic value chain analysis and create a comprehensive value chain building strategy. The LRO project could then work with the stakeholders that are already working in those areas, and coordinate and create a capacity building program to ensure the tools for value chain creation are in place.
2 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 2. INTRODUCTION
2.1. Background Enabling the socioeconomic development of a nation’s youth is critical to ensuring its prosperity and growth. In many developing countries facing a youth population bulge, employment and livelihoods creation are growing challenges. This is also the case in Ethiopia, where many youth resort to drug use and crime.
Ethiopia, with the second-largest population in Africa, has experienced rapid population growth over the last century from 18.1 million in 1950 to 105.2 million in 2017.1 This growth has contributed to periodic food insecurity, particularly in rural areas, where young people lack opportunities to become productive members of society. While the country’s economy is growing rapidly, this is mostly evident in urban areas and is not benefiting young people sufficiently. The Government of Ethiopia tried to address youth unemployment from 2005 through the Protective Safety Net Programme (PSNP), aimed at supporting socioeconomic recovery in areas that suffer repeated droughts and other environmental challenges. The PSNP is now in its fourth phase, which started in 2015, and offers increasingly holistic ways for improving community resilience.
Ethiopia aspires to be a lower middle-income country by 2025. Currently, a quarter of Ethiopian youth aged 15 to 29 are underemployed and 71 percent of the population is under 30.2 Due to this demographic challenge, transforming youth into productive members of society is critical to achieving the 2025 vision. When given the right opportunities and training, and when connected to the appropriate institutions and businesses, youth development can be a driver for creating a productive and energetic workforce and helping transform the economy. Paired with the availability of resources such as education, and access to capital, land and knowledge, youth development plays a key role in socioeconomic development and transformation.
2.2. Background to LRO Feed the Future Ethiopia Livelihoods for Resilience – Oromia (LRO) is a 5-year USAID-funded project that aims to support the livelihoods options of chronically food insecure households in Oromia region. The project’s goal is to improve the sustainable economic well-being of Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) households in Arsi Zone (Sire, Dodota and Ziway Dugda), West Arsi (Shala, Arsi Negele, Heben Arsi and Siraro), and East Shewa (ATJK and Boset). The LRO project works with World Vision’s DFSA in Siraro on livelihoods and youth. In addition, the LRO project overlaps with CRS’ DFSA in Ziway Dugda, Shala, Arsi Negele, Heben Arsi and Siraro. CRS’ DFSA consortium includes Meki Catholic Secretariat (MCS) as an implementing partner and Mercy Corps as a technical partner in the areas of cash transfers, livelihoods and youth.
1. World Population Review: Ethiopia Population 2017. http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/ethiopia-population/ 2. Megquier S and Belohlav K. December 2014. Ethiopia’s Key: Young People and the Demographic Dividend. PRB.
3 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 3. OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
3.1. Purpose These assessments were conducted to understand the perceptions of the community and the Government of Ethiopia at the woreda level on youth’s ability to be productive and contributing members of society, and the capacity of institutions and organizations to improve livelihoods options for youth. The assessments also aimed to understand the abilities and gaps of stakeholders in contributing to the development of young people, and will ultimately help inform interventions that enable youth to participate in their development in an equitable manner, so they can positively contribute to their communities.
3.2. Study objectives This study comprises the following two objectives which will inform the LRO project’s development of needs-based interventions for supporting youth development in its project areas: • Assessment of community perceptions of youth equity, agency and empowerment, access to resources, and their previous experience in youth development and engagement. • Assessment of the Government of Ethiopia’s (at the woreda level) perceptions of youth equity, agency and empowerment, access to resources, and their previous experience in youth development and engagement.
3.3. Definitions These are the major terms used by the study: • Equity: Youth’s ability to participate in leadership and decision making, and to access resources as they relate to elders in the community; and the difference in decision making and access between men and women. • Agency: Youth’s ability to be independent, to act for themselves, and to be decision makers with regards to their own rights, lives and livelihoods. • Empowerment: How stakeholders around youth support activities and create an environment that improves the agency of youth or supports their ability to make decisions, earn an income and be independent. • Access to resources: Youth’s ability to acquire and utilize the resources they need to create income-generating opportunities for themselves, or to develop their livelihoods and financial independence through land, tools, animals, water and other capital.
4 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 3.4. Learning questions Overall learning question: What is the relationship between stakeholder perceptions, experiences of positive youth development, and youth’s position in society? How can current capacities be upgraded to improve youth’s economic independence and position them to become contributing members of the community?
The relevance of these questions to the LRO project is as follows: • The questions provide an opportunity to collect early project-phase information related to community perceptions and institutional capabilities. • Analysis will inform the development of interventions to create an enabling environment for youth as it relates to equitable distribution of resources and youth agency in decision-making. • Analysis will inform the development of interventions to build the capacity of stakeholders to create a supportive environment for improving youth’s productivity and ability to become income earners. • The analysis will support the contextualization of youth development tools, including trainings packages, access-to-finance interventions and other material provision aimed at improving youth’s ability to participate in livelihoods activities.
3.5. Study methodology The study comprised the collection and analysis of primary and secondary data. Primary data was gathered through field visits to the selected woredas, where members of community and government were interviewed to gain an understanding of the perceptions of youth. Each group of stakeholders was provided with survey questions utilizing different types of assessment tools, from individual interviews to focus group discussions. All interviews sought to probe stakeholders on opinions, perceptions of ongoing and proposed activities, physical resources available to youth and actions related to both young men and women in their communities. Three categories of interview process were utilized: 1) key informant individual qualitative and quantitative interviews with the government; 2) focus group discussions with the community; 3) quantitative individual house-to- house interview surveys with community members.
The consultant was hired by Mercy Corps to conduct a youth assessment for DFSA project areas. The Feed the Future Ethiopia Livelihoods for Resilience – Oromia project areas were added to this study as the nature of the project is similar. Respondents in LRO and DFSA areas had many similar perceptions of the situation of youth. There were some minor differences related to activities implemented by the stakeholders, land availability, and livelihood activities related to the environmental conditions.
3.6. Scope of the study The assessments for the 2 study areas were carried out in 9 woredas in 3 administrative zones. Initially, 2 focus group discussions and interviews with 10 government offices were planned for each woreda, as well as interviews with 150 community respondents per zone. Due to logistical limitations (See 3.9 Limitations of the research), the assessment included only 7 community focus group discussions, interviews with 87 government offices, and 303 interviews with community members. A breakdown of the interviews is outlined in the table below.
5 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT The scope of these assessments was limited to three administrative zones: Table 1. Zones and woredas, by project Zone Woreda DFSA LRO Arsi Ziway Dugda X X Arsi Dodota X Arsi Sire X West Arsi Shala X X West Arsi Arsi Negele X X West Arsi Heben Arsi X X West Arsi Siraro X East Shewa ATJK X East Shewa Boset X
Table 2. Breakdown of government interviews, community FGDs and individual community interviews
Zone Woreda Government Community Community offices focus groups individuals Arsi Ziway Dugda, Dodota, 30 6 (*4) 150 (*97) Sire (3 woredas) (*10, 10, 9) West Arsi Heben Arsi, Shala, 40 8 (*1) 150 (*97) Siraro and Arsi Negele, (*10, 9, 9, 10) (4 woredas) East Shewa ATJK, Boset 20 4 (*2) 150 (*109) (2 woredas) 20 (*10,10)
Total interviews 90 (*87) 18 (*7) 450 (*303)
*Reported number of interviews carried out during field survey. • Dodota, Heben Arsi, Siraro, Arsi Negele and Boset did not have focus group discussions. • Sire, Heben Arsi and Siraro did not have house-to-house interviews.
Table 3. Additional community interviews conducted for DFSA zones
Zone/Area Woreda Community Community focus groups individuals Dire Dawa Dire Dawa 2 (7) 150 (150)
East Hararghe Zone Babile, Deder, Midega 8 (6) 150 (148) Tola, Melka Belo*
* Not interviewed for household interviews or FGD Total interviews 10 (13) 300 (298)
6 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 3.7. Population size and sample procedure To obtain a statistically significant sample from the community, 303 (96 female and 207 male) non-youth community members across the zones of the LRO project (individuals over 29 years of age) were surveyed by going house-to-house and seeking random households. Generally, for any population size over 100,000, a sample of 384 individuals suffices to be considered statistically significant with an assumed p-value of 0.05, as per guidance by Krejcie & Morgan (1970).3 The sample size included woredas from both DFSA and LRO project areas (see map below). Due to logistical reasons, three woredas were left out of the community house-to-house survey. However, the main challenges found in these woredas are similar in nature and therefore the sample size could be considered representative of the perceptions of communities in these rural areas.
Map showing the scope of the research and field visits
3.8. Data collection procedures Data collection took place over a period of 3 weeks in August 2017. For the community house‑to‑house questionnaires, multiple-choice questions were administered by trained enumerators. Multiple-choice questionnaires were used because of the time it would take to interview 450 households, and were also chosen to collect quantitative data. However, because the questions were purely multiple choice, some of the reasoning behind the responses could not be deduced from the questionnaires alone. Therefore, more substantive information was gathered through focus group discussions with community elders and women’s groups. Further information related to the perception of youth was provided by key informant interviews with woreda-level government offices.
3. Krejcie RV and Morgan DW. 1970. Determining sample size for study activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement. University of Minnesota.
7 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 3.9. Limitations of the research This study provides an overview of community and government perceptions of youth development in the LRO implementation woredas, but these are not necessarily representative of the whole country. For the house-to-house research, 3 of the 9 woredas—Heben Arsi, Sire and Siraro— were left out. The prescribed number of households interviewed was 450, to be well within the statistically significant realm of 384. Due to logistical challenges, only 303 respondents were interviewed for the house-to-house study. For the focus groups discussions, there were supposed to 2 in each woreda, for a total of 18 for the LRO areas, but only 7 were completed.
8 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
4. BACKGROUND TO YOUTH SITUATION IN ETHIOPIA
4.1. Education Significant progress has been made in urban and rural areas with both primary and secondary education. Enrolment rates in primary schools rose from 61 percent to 86 percent between 2005 and 2014, and in secondary schools from 13 percent in 1999 to 36 percent in 2012.4 However, while there are significant gains in education, the availability of jobs in relation to the type of education young people have acquired has not kept pace. It is therefore imperative for the Ethiopian economy to keep growing sufficiently to absorb the ever-increasing number of educated youth, and to create jobs to match their education levels.
4.2. Employment About 80 percent of the workforce is employed in agriculture, with 85 percent of households farming on less than 2 hectares, and 40 percent farming on less than 0.5 hectares, for subsistence only.5 Without the absorptive capacity of agriculture and a lack of sufficient job opportunities and improvements in the labor market, a large number of young people are unemployed and underemployed, and are idle or engage in seasonal labor migration. This is exemplified by the estimated underemployment rate of 25 percent, where the labor market has not grown enough to provide new jobs.
4.3. Access to land According to the Ethiopian constitution, every citizen has the right to access land without having to buy it. All land is owned by the government, which also retains control of access. However, in parts of the country, land use by local farmers is under 20 percent of available land, thus allowing the government to lease land to foreign investors. A government survey found that, nationwide, 15 million hectares of arable land were under cultivation while another 15 million hectares were lying fallow. Of the fallow land, the government estimated that 3.6 million hectares (2015) were viable for commercial agriculture and it therefore opened up this land to potential private investors, mostly of foreign origin.6 While these investments often create land conflict and increase local grievances, they also provide opportunities for thousands of farmed-based jobs.
4. OECD. Key Issues Facing Youth in Ethiopia. http://www.oecd.org/dev/inclusivesocietiesanddevelopment/youth-issues-in-ethiopia.htm 5. F AO. October 2014. Food and Agriculture Policy Decision Analysis (FAPDA). Country fact sheet on food and agriculture policy trends, Ethiopia. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4181e.pdf 6. L emma B. 14 May 2015. Ethiopia: Government Provides over 2.3 million Hectares of Land for Investors. http://www.2merkato.com/news/alerts/3768-ethiopia-government-provides-over-23-million-hectares-of-land-for-investors
9 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 5. STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT AND ANALYSIS
This section presents the findings of the stakeholder surveys, and highlights the perceptions of community and government respondents, on youth equity, access and empowerment; youth access to resources; and experience with youth development in the respective woredas (see Table 4 below). This data was gathered to understand the current situation related to youth economic empowerment, to explore the successes or weaknesses of current interventions, and to provide recommendations. Community perceptions were captured particularly in relation to equity, agency and empowerment.
Table 4. Summary of main findings per stakeholder
Study area Community Government Overall • See youth as overly dependent on family. • More upbeat about youth development than perception • Say youth lack access to resources, more than in community – youth development seen as a priority area of youth previous generations. and youth as productive members of society. situation and • See youth as being more prone to delinquency and • Claim to be actively engaged in youth development. development unemployment than previous generations. • Assign more success to youth development initiatives needs • Prefer agriculture‑based youth livelihoods options. than community respondents. Equity • See male youth as having similar equity as their elders. • Find youth dependent and unempowered (two thirds of • See generational equity as undermined by a lack of respondents). resources. • See youth as having equity when accessing services such • See land scarcity as a result of outside investors being as health and schooling. given land. • See women/female youth as culturally disadvantaged and not having land equity.
Agency and • Perceive youth as better educated today but jobs as • See lack of jobs and technical skills, and a propensity empowerment less available for the educated class. for crime/delinquency as biggest obstacles to youth • See youth as over-reliant on family. development. • See a positive mind-set and behavior change as • Point to life skills development and focus as needing important for youth development. more attention. • See seasonal and outbound migration as a result of • See youth groups and SME development as a priority desperation to seek unavailable livelihoods. area. • Believes that youth are often consulted for youth projects.
Access to • Contradictory community feedback on access to • Believe youth face challenges accessing resources. resources resources, with 50 percent saying it wasn’t a problem. • See key government role in providing access to • Largely see resource access as beyond human control, resources. citing lack of land and cattle as reasons. • See skills development, access to finance, and TVET as • See lack of a savings culture among youth as a problem. key government inputs. • See challenges related to land grabs and growing population.
Experience • Have little or no awareness of ongoing government or • Had few youth projects/initiatives and not many with youth NGO/CBO youth development work and initiatives. specifics were provided about the projects. development • Need for greater publicity and community engagement. • Most projects uncoordinated and ad hoc. programming • Some government offices did not feel responsible or mandated for youth development. • Implementation capacity, budget and technical knowledge appears to be limited.
10 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 5.1. Analysis of main findings chart Across all stakeholders, there was a common view that young people are dependent on their parents and are not empowered to take responsibility for themselves. It was expressed by all stakeholders that a major factor impeding their independence was lack of access to resources. The community largely saw that the government’s role and the role of other organizations was limited in catering to youth development challenges, while the government saw itself as playing a major role. Table 4 shows that there is a great need for youth programming as they are seen to have limited access to opportunities that can change their situation, and current efforts to impact their situation are insufficient.
5.2. Community The overall perception of youth development challenges in the surveyed communities was that they are dependent mainly on their parents because they have limited access to resources to create small businesses or access to jobs. Non-youth respondents said that when they were young, issues of idleness and unemployment were not as pervasive. People were more able to access resources such as land and farming inputs as there were more available. Overall, the lack of jobs and the lack of productive resources were seen as the main reasons, while crime and drug use were seen as secondary issues.
Community members listed a few reasons why they thought the situation was different today, including: 1) more people have access to primary and secondary education, but there are not enough formal jobs for such educated young people; 2) population growth has created a scarcity of land and resources; 3) climate change has degraded land and hit agricultural productivity; and 4) as a result, many young people are idle or delinquent. The biggest challenge community members said youth were facing was the lack of jobs, with crime and drug use associated with unemployment and idleness.
Many community members, some participating in focus group discussions, also saw young people as potentially destructive members of the community who may sit idle, use drugs, smoke, engage in crime, gamble and even marry without having adequate financial resources, subsequently divorcing. Community feedback therefore matches what the secondary data on education and employment showed, namely that the increasing youth bulge is not as easily absorbable in rural areas as in the past, and that rural economies are not growing enough to offer youth enough opportunities. While community respondents said resources were more readily available in the past, the survey did not reveal why they thought that or whether they were aware that land was scarcer and more environmentally challenged than in previous generations. Perhaps survey feedback indicates communities’ perceptions that rural areas had been exhausted by overuse and climate change.
With regards to the most promising livelihoods options for youth, most respondents to house‑to‑house surveys suggested that young people should engage in agricultural activities to improve their livelihoods (see Figure 1). Some 38 percent of respondents thought that animal husbandry was the best rural livelihoods option, while 45 percent thought commercial grain farming should be supported, and 12 percent mentioned vegetable farming as having good livelihoods potential. However, most of the activities they suggested, particularly grain production, would require large amounts of productive land.
11 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Figure 1. Community perceptions of technical skills most useful for livelihood development
Commercial grain farming
Commercial animal husbandry
Commercial vegetable farming
Mechanics
Food processing
The FGDs also highlighted other ideas that community members had on how to empower youth, including providing them better access to finance or interest-free loans to stimulate growth of youth-run enterprises; business skills training for different income-generating opportunities; and livelihoods group establishment for training in specific skills such as livestock fattening, agriculture, poultry production, beekeeping, dairy processing, or vegetable production supported by small-scale technology for irrigation. Finally, focus group members also suggested that the government could support these efforts by reallocating land intended for foreign or domestic investors to youth instead.
Some of the perceived livelihoods options are clearly within the scope and intention of the LRO project and should therefore receive adequate attention, and their potential and feasibility should be investigated further. 5.2.1. Equity Community respondents believed that young people, particularly men, have many of the same opportunities as elders did, at least according to traditional and legal standards. However, they also said that the ability to access resources such as land and animals was greatly reduced, thus undermining generational equity. There were multiple references to land being inaccessible and that young people were not able to acquire plots of land even though the Ethiopian constitution made provisions for this. Several elders in the focus groups also said land was increasingly being allocated to private investors and that this was undermining land availability for young people. They suggested that government should reclaim some of the land and distribute it to young people.
Figure 2a. Community perceptions of male youth’s equal access to land
Yes No Sometimes Don’t know
12 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Figure 2b. Community perceptions of female youth’s equal access to land
Yes No Sometimes Don’t know With regards to gender equity, for cultural reasons, young women were perceived to not have the same privileges or access to land resources as men, with the rationale that women would eventually move away from their families, and if they were given family land, it would no longer be accessible to their family. While women are not allowed to own land, some are lent pieces of land on which they are able to farm or conduct other productive activities. Therefore, in terms of community resources, there is much less equity for young women. However, some of the community did perceive that women either had access or sometimes had access to land.
Rural societies are still largely traditional, and men customarily have greater access to family land than women due to the practice of women leaving the family to live with in-laws after marriage. However, even though men traditionally have this right to access and own land, they cannot always do so, apparently due to a shortage of land and population growth. Therefore, the equity issue between young men and women is something that the project could attempt to change at the community level. However, the project may not be able to impact the challenge of a lack of land availability.
Meanwhile, secondary data study on land scarcity shows that the distribution of land to foreign investors is controversial. A report released by the Oakland Institute outlined how this distribution could cause food insecurity and have negative environmental impacts. It said the investments in agribusiness were for flowers and food exports and that they were not contributing to improving local food security. This is juxtaposed against the fact that 13 million people are dependent on food aid.7 Land distribution to private investors has taken place in the Oromia, Benishangul-Gumuz, Somali and Gambella regions, and has negatively impacted farmers, and particularly youth, as they are unable to access land as their parents did. In the Constitution, Proclamation 455/2005 gives authority to the woreda to confiscate and expropriate land for the benefit of “public purpose and or investment.” Farmers have been expected to evacuate their ancestral lands within 30 days according to Article 4 of the proclamation, and if they do not comply, the police are able to use force.8 However, equity related to land is an issue involving the federal government and is somewhat outside of the decision-making power of the local community.
7. Gellaw A. December 1, 2011. Think tank deplores Ethiopia land grab deals. https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/think-tank-deplores-ethiopia-land-grab-deals 8. U moya. February 1, 2014. Land grabbing and its dire consequences in Ethiopia. https://umoya.org/2014/02/01/land-grabbing-and-its-dire-consequences-in-ethiopia/
13 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 5.2.2. Agency and empowerment The community was asked if they found youth to be independent members of society. Independence was defined as having the ability to earn an income and sustainably provide for themselves without relying on family. When the community was asked about youth’s independence, 74 percent of respondents said that youth were not independent enough, indicating that they were dependent on their families and not able to provide for themselves. As shown in Figures 4a and 4b, community respondents believed this to be caused by lack of opportunities (men 38 percent/ women 35 percent) and lack of access to productive resources (men 19 percent/ women 25 percent).
Youth were not seen as lacking independence due to a lack of education, because 69 percent of the community perceived that young people had greater access to education than previous generations. This points to the fact that more youth are completing school than two decades ago. Secondary data demonstrates this trend very clearly. As already quoted, enrolment rates in primary schools rose from 60.5 percent in 2005 to 85.9 percent in 2014, and secondary school enrolment from 13 percent in 1999 to 36 percent in 2012.9
Figure 3. Community perceptions of the prominence of issues affecting youth that have changed since the previous generation
International influence
Types of education
Access to land
Access to education
Politics
Drug use
Trade
Figure 4a. Community perceptions of the greatest challenges facing male youths
Existing job market
Politics
Mind-set
Education
Skills / Technical skills
Crime / Drug use
Resource access
9. O ECD. Key issues facing youth in Ethiopia. http://www.oecd.org/dev/inclusivesocietiesanddevelopment/youth-issues-in-ethiopia.htm
14 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Figure 4b. Community perceptions of the greatest challenges facing female youth
Existing job market
Politics
Mind-set
Education
Skills / Technical skills
Crime / Drug use
Resource access
Feedback from the FGDs also highlighted the fact that many youths move back home after finishing school and rely on their parents for support. Once married, many young people rely on their parents to support their young family. Respondents also said that this reliance led to divorce in some cases, as there were not enough resources to take care of the young family. This lack of independence was perceived to be widespread and was seen as having a negative impact on the mental health of young people. Respondents in the FGDs also believed that this contributed to an increase in drug use. Having a positive outlook and mind-set was regarded by respondents as an important factor in having a productive generation.
Furthermore, community feedback highlighted that less progress was perceived to have been made in the creation of jobs that were appropriate for educated young people. In rural areas, most young people lacked opportunities to enter the formal job market and they continued to rely on subsistence farming opportunities or seasonal labor migration. Youth also do not have much control over the types of available jobs and the types of businesses they can join. Jobs they may have been hoping for related to their education are not available in rural areas. Therefore, the only way that youth are able to find jobs is to seek opportunities primarily in cities.
However, as shown in Figure 5 below, while the majority of respondents in focus groups claimed that the government had not done much to support youth, community members did see youth as playing a role, as they said that youth were independent and self-sufficient due to government programs or interventions. While 67 percent of community respondents disagreed that youth were independent of family, 23 percent agreed that they were independent. Some 15 percent saw the government programs as playing a key role in youth gaining independence, while 67 percent attributed the independence of youth to their home upbringing.
15 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Figure 5. Community perception of youth as independent
Disagree Agree Strongly disagree Don’t know Strongly agree
Figure 6. Community perception of actors contributing to youth independence
Parental influence
Community support
NGO support
Government programs
Education
No comment
FGDs showed that seasonal migration to other parts of Ethiopia or international migration was common and a coping mechanism when young people were unable to find jobs. During the FGDs, elders reported that migration had a negative impact on the community in terms of economic development. Respondents also said young people migrated illegally, that it was dangerous and often led to challenges that required parents to send money to bring them home.
5.3. Further community opinions on how to empower youth The community suggested that access to finance and interest-free loans would be a great stimulant for youth-run enterprises. This should be coupled with essential business skills for different income- generating opportunities, and could be done by establishing livelihoods groups trained in specific skills for such activities as livestock-fattening, agriculture, poultry production, beekeeping and dairy. Some specifically spoke about vegetable production, and support through small-scale appropriate technology for irrigation as there is ample groundwater. They suggested that the government could support this by taking some land back from investors and reallocating it to youth. They also noted that factory job opportunities were scarce and that this could be a good opportunity for employing youth. There were also suggestions of life skills training focusing on the work ethic of youth, and counselling to persuade youth to stop migrating.
16 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT During the house-to-house survey, most respondents suggested that young people engage in agricultural activities to improve their livelihoods (See Figure 1). Most of the activities they suggested, particularly grain production, require large amounts of land. Therefore, it is important to take into consideration farming activities that require less land, such as vegetable farming (potentially using urban farming practices) and animal husbandry.
5.3.1. Access to resources Youth were found to be lacking access to resources not because they were youth but because the resource access did not exist. Some factors that were mentioned were found not to be within the control of the government, local community or the LRO project, and there were other factors that could be seen as part of a change in culture. These are discussed below:
Issues out of human control: When questioned about the differences between the current situation of youth and the situation of youth in previous generations, FGD respondents said there was a greater availability of land due to there being fewer young people and that they had been able to access this from their parents. The other major resource that was limited was cattle. Respondents in the FGDs said that previously there had been more heads of livestock to support youth animal husbandry.
Climate change was another major issue that the community perceived to contribute to land scarcity and the difficulty of creating agriculture-related jobs. Community members said that the soil had become drier and rockier, and that there had been a drought for the last few years, which created significant challenges for farming as a means of income generation. Secondary data showed that rain patterns had been more irregular and, in many parts of the country, rainfall had been declining in recent decades. Community respondents also perceived the decline in rainfall as being exacerbated by tree-cutting for charcoal production, which many people engage in to earn an income.
Issues within human control: FGD members felt that earlier generations had a better culture of saving, which youth did not have today. Their perception was also that many of today’s youth grew up going to school and receiving money from their parents to support their needs, and they were used to a more comfortable life than young people in previous generations. There was also a perception that even if some youth were able to get work with private agricultural enterprises, many would not be interested because they might feel that they needed jobs related to what they had studied in school.
Figure 7. Community perception of youth’s ability to access productive resources needed for livelihoods
Disagree Agree Don’t know Strongly agree
The community perception of youth’s ability to access resources was therefore split. In Arsi Negele and Boset woredas, almost every respondent felt that youth were unable to access resources.
17 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 5.3.2. Experience with youth development programs With regards to experiencing or witnessing youth development initiatives or programs in their communities, respondents felt that there were few activities in rural communities contributing to this goal. In most woredas, institutions with mandates to support youth livelihoods, such as local government offices, local community-based organizations, and other associations, were felt to be inactive.
• Community-based organizations: While in some woredas, CBOs were perceived as completely inactive around youth issues, in others, such as Shala, ATJK, Ziway Dugda and Sire, CBOs were known to work with youth in starting groups to improve their livelihoods. Activities they engage in include youth livelihoods groups that participate in savings activities and have access to finance. Some youth had even created their own youth groups. These should be enhanced, expanded and also offered low-tech solutions for different enterprises.
• Nongovernmental organizations: In most woredas, there were no activities being implemented by organizations around youth issues. Some NGOs had formed livelihoods groups and enabled them to access finance through group credit. Some had also provided group training in life skills and some technical skills.
• Government: In most woredas, focus group respondents said that government had a policy to support youth but that this was not being implemented, and activities had not been initiated to empower youth. Focus groups said that some government bodies registered unemployed youth but that activities were not undertaken. Some government bodies also held meetings to consult with youth on their challenges and livelihoods preferences, but there was little or no follow-up. Some government institutions initiated the formation of youth groups, but then did little with them. Some people claimed that the government had some financing opportunities for youth, but nothing was really happening with these funds. While the respondents in the focus groups said the government was not doing much to support youth, the community did perceive that at least part of the reason youth were independent was influenced by the government.
Despite the considerable resources being made available for youth development from the Ethiopian government and international actors, it is clear that community perceptions contradict efforts and that more publicity and awareness-raising needs to be done by the various actors.
5.4. Government In each woreda, various government offices were interviewed on their role in youth development. The offices that were the most active are analyzed more thoroughly here. However, not all offices were interviewed for each woreda. Some overall observations from all woredas were that the government had a positive impact on the situation of youth. All government offices also felt that youth were valuable members of society and that there should be active engagement by the government to improve the situation of youth. Almost all government officials claimed that drug use and sometimes crime were issues that prevented youth from being productive members of society.
18 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Figure 8: Government offices on providing resources for youth development
Yes No Attempts made In the plan No comment
Most of the government offices listed their strengths as being the same as their weaknesses, creating a challenge for the analysis of the research. Many government institutions said they had no budget, but that they had held projects related to youth, such as microfinance and skills development. Many of the offices also said that they had resources for microfinance, but only one was lending. There may have been confusion between implementing community savings programs and administering a microfinance fund.
Secondary data related to government policies on youth development showed that the national government had publicly declared that it was going to be involving youth in its development plans and in decision-making. A 10 billion birr youth fund has been established, but very little of this has been allocated to the woredas for implementation. The president has said that youth will participate in the administration of the fund.10 While the government said that 147,000 youth were benefiting from the fund in urban areas, the youth in the rural project areas said they had not seen these funds distributed to their local governments.11
There are some offices that are engaged in a few activities related to youth employment, but it is not coordinated and they seem to be ad hoc rather than part of a larger overall strategy on youth development. Different offices, from different sectors are overlapping and implementing the same programs or say they are implementing the same programs.
5.4.1. Equity With regards to equity and gender equality, most government key informants had little to say other than that basic services were equally accessible to youth as to other generations, and that there was no specific government policy to enshrine youth equity. The same was true of equal access to community resources, which most government respondents felt were equally accessible, although female youth were seen as having greater access to livestock, and male youth slightly better access to land. No government respondent noted any difference between male and female youth with regards to community resources when it came to the legality of that access, but when looking at the traditional nature of resources access, they perceived a notable difference.
10. Ethiopian News Agency. October 10, 2016. Gov’t to establish 10-billion birr mobile youth fund. http://www.ena.gov.et/en/index.php/economy/item/2073-gov-t-to-establish-10-billion-birr-mobile-youth-fund 11. E zega. August 31, 2017. 147,000 Ethiopian youth benefited from the youth revolving fund. https://www.ezega.com/News/NewsDetails/4623/147-000-Ethiopian-Youth-Benefited-from-Revolving-Fund-Government
19 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT With regards to access to community resources such as land or livestock, respondents said the situation had not changed much and that local tradition still allowed youth to enjoy equal access. Female youth were seen as not having equal access to resources, particularly land and livestock, because they were no longer following the traditional concept of family membership once they got married. While fathers often distribute property to their sons when they become mature, female youth are not given land or livestock when they marry.
Meanwhile, women/female youth were perceived to face particularly difficult odds when trying to establish livelihoods or access opportunities. Not only were women seen to be able to access fewer types of jobs because there was a preference for male employees or because women were seen as viable only for a narrow range of professions, but they were also seen as lacking confidence or feeling disempowered when entering the job market. Finally, the lack of access to community resources such as land and the issue of early marriage in many rural areas was also seen to disadvantage female youth more severely than men.
Figure 9a and 9b. Government offices’ perception of youth’s legal access to resources (male and female)
Figure 10a and 10b. Government offices’ perception of youth’s traditional access to resources (male and female)
5.4.2. Agency and empowerment Government respondents felt that in most communities there was not a conducive market situation that would enable youth-initiated businesses to flourish. However, in addition to the job situation or weak local markets, many respondents also noted that youth graduated from universities or training programs with only limited skills that the markets did not really need. Finally, a lack of self-confidence and poor personal responsibility or discipline were also seen as undermining youth. This attitude was seen to lead to drug abuse and create a cycle of hopelessness.
20 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT With regards to youth participating in local community leadership and decision-making, most respondents felt that youth were given such opportunities, with some saying that female youth occupied leadership roles in local government bodies or groupings. However, most noted that there was no specific government policy, such as an affirmative action, to encourage youth participation or leadership at local levels. Most government respondents (72 percent) said that youth were regularly consulted on local policies affecting their communities (see Figure 11). However, some respondents said promotion of youth participation was insignificant, so it seems that youth involvement was an aspiration and something they were working towards, rather than a practice.
Respondents said that the main challenges for youth were unemployment and the lack of employment opportunities. However, attitudinal problems were also seen as a big problem because youth did not seem as ambitious or motivated as in previous generations, and were more dependent on families for support. A lack of recreational options for youth and widespread perceived boredom were thought to be adding to idleness and lack of productivity. At the same time, nepotism and unfair hiring practices were seen to present almost insurmountable obstacles to youth trying to access job opportunities. Finally, many respondents said government programs and initiatives—while increasing and being better resourced than before—were not yet having much impact. Youth motivated to start their own businesses faced the ubiquitous problem of access to capital and productive resources, which was mentioned by almost all respondents.
Figure 11. Government offices’ perception of promoting youth input in new policy development
Yes No Sometimes
5.4.3. Access to resources The office of Cooperatives and Marketing said that young people primarily needed land and that they recommended that government should distribute this resource to youth whenever possible. However, other government respondents said youth did have access to land in most cases, while some said it was available to them traditionally, but not done in practice due to lack of availability. Also, climate change and other environmental factors were seen as worsening the availability of resources—particularly land and livestock—that could benefit youth.
Most government respondents were eager to point out the resources and programs that offices and government initiatives had made available to youth. Skills development, access to finance and policies to create an enabling environment were seen as the three main areas of support that the government broadly provided (see Figure 12).
21 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Figure 12. Government resources provided for youth, rated in order of importance by government officers
Resources rated as most important
Skills development Access to Policy framework/ Youth Microfinance training finance enabling TVET environment
Resources rated as second most important
Skills development Access to Policy framework/ Youth Microfinance training finance enabling TVET environment
Resources rated as third most important
Skills development Access to Policy framework/ Youth Microfinance training finance enabling TVET environment
22 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 5.4.4. Experience with youth development programming Primary data was collected from a range of government offices in each woreda to be able to understand the role of the local government in the development of youth. The offices most active in youth development are discussed more thoroughly here.
Youth and Sports There were few projects run by the Youth and Sports offices for improving the economic situation of youth. Some projects were related to supporting youth centers, youth associations and youth groups. Of the eight youth offices interviewed, only in oneworeda , Heben Arsi, was there a project specifically related to youth livelihoods, which focused on access to finance. Many of the offices were aware of the nationwide youth fund, but were not yet actively participating in its implementation. Most offices said they had no budget to implement programs for youth.
Also, most offices were not working on projects related to youth livelihoods and employment, but said they offered youth some level of business skills training, employment programs or access to finance.
The Youth and Sports offices also did not seem equipped to support any programs related to youth livelihoods development, microfinance or entrepreneurship. It would be advisable to support these offices in increasing their capacity to provide some of these services and to support the coordination with the youth for project activities. While most offices said they had staff with skill sets in training and facilitation, the ability to provide training on entrepreneurship and livelihoods development would need further capacity building through training-of-trainers or other modalities. Without some skill in training on entrepreneurship, the youth offices would not have the capacity to work with youth on small businesses or help them to develop suitable business plans. Therefore, the LRO project could work with implementing partners and/or sector experts to support youth in developing business plans.
Cooperatives and Marketing The Cooperatives and Marketing office said it had engaged youth in several projects involving job creation, support for business development training, support for business internships, and training for IGA groups. Like other offices, it listed both its strengths and its weaknesses as microfinance, skills development training, improving the enabling environment, and entrepreneurship management. Their additional weakness involved technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions. The assumption here was that they were working on some of these activities, but would like to have their capacity built further.
Some of the projects it was engaged in were organizing youth into livelihoods groups and giving them some resources such as sand and stone for making bricks, and livestock for fattening. The office suggested streamlining government activities related to youth with NGO activities related to life skills training, counselling to change youth outlook, supporting programs that engage youth in community service and supporting youth business groups.
Most of these offices recommended that youth could become independent through small enterprise, agricultural activities and small food-manufacturing enterprises. Some of the activities suggested to support engagement in these IGAs were access-to-finance and business skills development training. They also said young people needed to access resources such as land, and recommended that the government should distribute this resource to youth.
23 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Overall, while there appear to be capacity gaps in the ability of these offices to deliver, they have the technical knowledge to implement livelihoods programs for young people. Also, a few of these offices have done projects on savings and credit with youth. The project should look at these projects to better understand their quality and decide whether they can be built on.
Microfinance and Small Business Three out of nine offices said that they had done some training and work on savings and credit. The office in Arsi Negele had trained youth in finance in 2016 and 2017. In 2018, it plans to organize youth into youth groups. The office in Sire is seemingly implementing the government youth fund for the woreda and this should be looked into further to understand what it is undertaking.
Pastoral Development and Agriculture Three out of nine Pastoral Development and Agriculture offices were engaging in programs related to youth development, particularly focused on youth livelihoods, economic development and access to finance. These offices have also delivered some technical services, such as training on livestock fattening, crop production and other agricultural areas. It is important to further assess the technical skills of these offices to understand how government workers, particularly in extension services, can support implementation of the LRO project.
Finance and Economic Development There is some activity in this office related to youth development, particularly in Arsi Negele in terms of microfinance. The office here offers education as well as job creation as a way to improve youth livelihoods through microfinance efforts. It also supports access to finance for SMEs and fundraising for youth. This office could work with the office of Microfinance and Small Business. The office in Sire discussed the government youth fund in more detail, saying there was 6 million birr available for lending, but that this was not enough for the number of youth.
Women and Child Welfare The offices of Women and Child Welfare in LRO woredas had very few initiatives. One office said it was collaborating on gender mainstreaming.
5.4.5. Observations on government capacity The project should further examine the quality and progress of youth projects being implemented by government offices. For most offices, there appears to be a difference between what they have planned and what they claim to have implemented. It is important to understand whether the plans are aspirational or concrete, and which activities they actually conduct or continue to engage in.
It will be important to identify areas of government capacity and areas where more capacity building is needed. For example, all government offices interviewed had some level of understanding of youth development and the trainings and activities they thought needed to be carried out for livelihoods development, but they need more capacity building to successfully transfer knowledge when providing such trainings. A common theme related to challenges in fulfilling their mandates in youth development was that of budget availability. This contradicted many offices’ claims that they had implemented projects related to youth such as microfinance and skills development. Many of the offices also claimed that they had resources for microfinance but only one said it was receiving funds from the federal government’s youth fund. There may have been confusion between implementing community savings programs, supporting linkages to microfinance institutions and administering a microfinance fund.
24 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Overall, most challenges were similar across woredas. The government interventions did not seem coordinated across woredas by sector, and within each woreda it did not seem that offices were talking to each other. Most efforts were initiated by individual offices and done in isolation without collaboration. There were some offices that were engaged in a few activities related to youth employment, but they did not seem to be part of a larger overall strategy on youth development. Different offices from different sectors overlapped and implemented the same programs or said they were implementing the same programs. Working with the government to coordinate within sector offices across project woredas could support a coordinated effort to comprehensively build the capacity of youth to improve their livelihoods through the support of the government.
25 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 6. OVERALL ANALYSIS
6.1. Situation of youth Youth issues were brought to the fore during the 2016 social protests, and thus some stakeholders have become more proactive in implementing youth-specific interventions. However, these appear to lack a comprehensive approach and coordination that would enable them to have wider impact. A major role of the LRO project could be to work with the government to develop a comprehensive plan that could be implemented across strategic sectors in the project areas. The offices in the different woredas should be buying into this plan and supporting it. A sector-based strategy could support woredas to engage with and learn from each other, as the sector approach is implemented.
6.2. Job creation approach Most government offices said they were implementing job creation activities in terms of small business creation, supporting entrepreneurship trainings, providing access to finance, and other trainings; however, not much detail was provided. Many government institutions said they had some experience organizing youth livelihoods groups. However, it was not clear if this was an effective approach and whether these groups were sustainable. Some groups of young women had been successful in collectively saving and starting small enterprises.
While the government’s youth fund plans are promising, it appears that the fund will first be made available and utilized in urban areas, and will take some time to reach the LRO woredas and rural areas in general. It is therefore recommended that LRO set up a finance facility as it will not have much overlap with the government youth fund. Even if there is overlap eventually, the government fund is not enough to cater for all youth. Therefore, it is recommended that, if the government youth fund does reach the LRO areas, there is coordination on implementation to either combine funds or to act complimentarily.
6.3. Stakeholder capacity Skills in entrepreneurship training and development were lacking in government offices.
6.4. Perceptions of youth livelihoods opportunities The majority of community respondents primarily mentioned agricultural activities. This could be due to their limited frame of reference and their own rural livelihoods backgrounds and experiences. More critical than these community perceptions could be the opinions and preferences that youth expressed, particularly when paired with a wider market assessment.
26 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 6.5. Gender Female youth have very different opportunities to male youth. Young women have much less control over their ability to invest and own land or other assets. This creates a challenge for them to become engaged in agricultural activities or to have businesses that grow beyond small microenterprises. Among the community respondents, 41 percent believed young women were able to access land, 33 percent said young women did not have access to land, while 24 percent believed young women sometimes had access (see Figure 13). In some circumstances, women were seen as more productive than men in housework and in earning a small income from small business activities.
Figure 13. Community perceptions of whether young women are able to access land
Yes No Sometimes Don’t know
In terms of supporting gender equity in decision-making around livelihoods options, life choices, and general empowerment, Figure 14 shows that 5 percent of respondents strongly disagreed or disagreed that young men should play a role, while 9 percent strongly disagreed or disagreed that women should play a role.
Figure 14. Community opinion on whether (male and female) youth should play a role in decision-making
Strongly agree Agree Don’t know Disagree Strongly disagree
27 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 7. CONCLUSIONS
7.1. General trends Youth are generally not supported by the community or the government. They have more challenges in becoming productive members of their societies than their parents did. The major occupation of Ethiopians in rural areas has been farming. Over 80 percent of the workforce is employed in agriculture.12 However, this is now decreasing as other sectors of the economy are growing faster, and youth are unable to find rural employment as easily as their parents did. This is due to a confluence of factors, such as growing land scarcity caused by rapid population growth, policy changes, or environmental factors. Improvements in education mean youth have fewer skills for labor-intensive work, while the jobs suitable to their education have not increased sufficiently to meet their expectations.
7.2. Education The availability of appropriate jobs for their education has contributed to the dependency of youth and most cannot find work when they graduate. Education has increased significantly, but has not prepared youth with skills that could support self-employment. Government interviewees said the government was weak in terms of TVET. Many young people move home to live with their parents and off their parents’ resources. This leads to a negative outlook on life, which causes many to resort to drugs and even crime and gambling. Due to the lack of job opportunities, many migrate to other countries where they may be cheated and sometimes held for ransom, which their parents have to pay.
7.3. Resource scarcity and climate change There is not enough land for smallholder farmers, particularly youth, due to a growing population and the awarding of a significant amount of arable land to private, mostly foreign, investors. The other major factor affecting young people’s ability to farm is climate change. Rain patterns have been changing and on the decline since 1997.
7.4. Government The community perception is that there is almost no support for youth. Most activities seem aspirational and have not been implemented. While government offices recognize they are under‑resourced, they do see themselves as playing a positive role in the lives of young people.
7.5. Community perceptions The community generally did not blame youth for their lack of opportunities and therefore lack of productivity. However, they did see them as unproductive despite being young, energetic and having the ability to be productive members of society. They acknowledged that external factors had contributed to their situation, where most are dependent on their families and some resort to drugs and alcohol. They recommended that youth be supported to engage in agricultural activities to change their livelihoods, and that this needs to be supported by access to finance and perhaps by the government taking land back from foreign investors and giving it to the youth.
12. FAO. October 2014. Food and Agriculture Policy Decision Analysis (FAPDA). Country fact sheet on food and agriculture policy trends, Ethiopia. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4181e.pdf
28 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 8. RECOMMENDATIONS
8.1. General recommendations These recommendations are related to the overall picture for improving the situation of youth livelihoods in the LRO project areas. As young people struggle to find opportunities to sustain their livelihoods and become independent, job creation is part of the advice from the community. From the data collected, it was apparent that there were not many existing businesses that could create new jobs and absorb unemployed young people. Therefore, it is necessary for youth to be given the tools to be able to become self-employed, with the aim of these young people becoming job creators as their small enterprises grow. This is best done utilizing a value chain approach paired with the appropriate technical training to improve skills to be able to manage and execute enterprises that are demanded by the chain. 8.1.1. Value chain approach This approach focuses on anchor enterprises such as value-added products (e.g. sesame oil, tomato paste, dried meat) or valuable services (e.g. vegetable wholesaler, slaughterhouse, retail market). These anchor enterprises work as catalysts that create demand for many different enterprises to supply goods or services to create a final value-added product or service. LRO is already working on the livestock value chain and it is suggested that any value chain study explore specific permutations, e.g., goat versus beef. It is also suggested that the project look into value chains residing within the other agricultural sectors, such as grain (teff, sorghum, wheat) and vegetables. 8.1.2. Stakeholder support and capacity building The stakeholders in this study each have a different role to play in supporting the creation and functioning of these enterprises, such as playing a coordinating role, supporting linkages, supporting an enabling environment and also using their expertise to engage in implementation. These actors will need capacity building in areas such as business development training and entrepreneurship. Also, once the specific sectors are selected according to the most marketable products, appropriate technical trainings will be needed to support the existing expertise of the stakeholders, to ensure youth will engage in those sectors and will be equipped with the necessary tools. 8.1.3. Access to capital This will be an imperative part of making job creation and livelihood development successful. A program supporting youth livelihoods development will need to provide solutions for building up capital among youth who are to engage in starting small enterprises. This can be done through savings programs, creating linkages to financial institutions, or partnering with other programs working on enabling access to finance, such as other organizations or government institutions that are developing finance funds. This government fund is very limited in rural areas, but current interventions can begin to prepare young people with the skills and experience to access it in future, through skills learned in savings programs. If there are resources available, it is advisable for a fund to be developed, using innovative and flexible approaches to be able to support youth start‑up enterprises.
29 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT 8.2. Recommendations specific to youth livelihoods programming There are innovative approaches that can make these profitable enterprises. If done with a commercial orientation, there is room for growth even with the current resource and environmental restrictions. Therefore, agricultural activities are still recommended for young people to become productive members of society.
8.3. Recommendations for livelihoods opportunities The community felt that the best areas for young people to become productive members of society were in farming activities such as animal husbandry, vegetable farming and grain. However, due to limited land availability, grain cannot be recommended as a good opportunity for young people. 8.3.1. Business, employment and life skills Training is recommended to increase the business acumen for those youth interested in entrepreneurship and self-employment, and to increase the employability of those looking for wage employment. Overall life skills training is also recommended. 8.3.2. Cooperative management These trainings should be done in conjunction with the Cooperative and Marketing office. An external cooperatives training expert should be hired to carry out this training. Two of the most important goals of cooperatives are to have greater access (in terms of affordability) to resources and inputs to put into their enterprises, and also to improve their ability to market through collective marketing training. Extension officers from the Cooperative and Marketing office should be present during the training and can even work with some of the trainers to administer the course. There are quite a few options for the project to enable access to finance. Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC), savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs), partnerships with the government and local banks, or microfinance institution linkages are some of the options. It is recommended that the project start with SILC groups and graduate to SACCOs, which are then able to feed into local microfinance institutions and potentially regular banks.
8.4. Livelihoods options The LRO project should conduct in-depth value chain analysis and market research into different potential sectors. The potential livelihoods options will also need to be viewed through a gender‑sensitive lens to identify options feasible for female youth. 8.4.1. Agriculture-based livelihoods options and value chain possibilities Agriculture-based livelihoods such as animal husbandry, vegetable and poultry farming, or beekeeping, are still seen as viable options. The project should focus on livelihoods activities that do not require a lot of land, as well as support alternative livelihoods to help rural youth diversify into non-farming opportunities. Not all youth will want to become self-employed or be entrepreneurs so there should be a focus on enhancing the employability of youth for wage employment, and include a job facilitation and placement component. The potential for supporting individual youth or youth groups in rural livelihoods should be investigated. The carrying-capacity of land and the long-term viability of animal husbandry, vegetable and poultry farming, grain farming and beekeeping should be investigated. Potential value chains to support these livelihoods options should be researched.
30 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Mini-value chain option: As most youth are not engaged in agricultural activities and the research showed that there were a few food processing enterprises in the rural areas, it is recommended that they begin to establish mini-value chains through youth livelihoods groups. Due to climate change and land degradation, agriculture has been on the decline. Therefore, youth need to build it up using approaches that fit the new climatic and socioeconomic conditions. They are called mini-value chains because the intervention is not integrated into an existing established value chain, as the data shows that their existence is minimal. Most activities to get a particular crop from pre-production to post-production will be carried out almost entirely by the income- generating activities, so the scale will be relatively small initially. If the small-scale interventions are successful, they can continue to grow to serve a larger value chain network. A mini-value chain example is that a vegetable group might be driving a whole vegetable chain by having its own marketing location in a regional market, may acquire its own transportation and will then also be composed of small farmers (potentially contract farmers) that feed into the chain or the marketing location. These farmers can also source or start enterprises that provide quality inputs, therefore creating the whole chain. 8.4.2. Specific skills training The potential enterprises that youth may undertake should be very specific and tailored to the conditions in the project implementation areas, and should also be particularly beneficial to the interests and livelihood goals of the youth. The trainers for these topics should be experts in these particular areas. Some of these trainings will need to be matched with access to finance/capital for the equipment and materials required to carry out the enterprise. All of these livelihoods activities should be suitable for both men and women. Some suggestions are:
Livestock fattening and trade This livelihood opportunity was frequently stressed by both the government and the community. It is recommended that the program try training and capitalization for the rearing of small ruminants such as goats or sheep. These require a smaller land area and have a shorter life cycle, so revenues are earned faster. They also require less feed than cattle, making them more affordable.
Beekeeping Beekeeping was mentioned by some in the government as a business that youth could engage in. This is a good business for youth in the project areas as it does not require a lot of land and is also easier in terms of time involved. Beekeeping can also provide multiple income streams and job opportunities as young people can also engage in manufacturing activities such as making candles and cosmetics. Carpentry is also a part of this value chain, as carpenters will need to manufacture the hives.
Urban farming techniques for vegetables in rural areas Since land in rural areas is scarce and many youth are unable to access it, they should engage in farming activities that require little land. Urban agricultural techniques are developed to grow a lot of food on a small area of land, and these can also be used in rural areas where land is scarce. Examples of this are commercial-style vegetable sack farming. The key is organizing it so that it is commercial rather than a subsistence farm for the household. For example, a youth could have a 40-sack farm on their parents’ property, growing a variety of mixed vegetables or specializing in a particular vegetable. It is key that farmers understand correct water and nutritional management of their plants to avoid disease. Small-scale irrigation systems could be instituted, such as the use of treadle pumps (depending on the water source and program budget) or mechanical pumps with drip irrigation. This could be done in partnership with a microfinance institution through a leasing program. Individual farmers could access cash through savings groups. For items such as seeds, entrepreneurs could take out a loan from their IGA savings group. The project could recommend seeds or support the
31 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT farmer in locating the best quality. Farmers should also be trained in best practice for disease and pest management. The use of ecological practices is also recommended, where possible.
Poultry This was recommended by several government offices as a good income-generating activity. However, due to the limited level of skills, knowledge and resources of most youth in local communities, poultry should be restricted to either local varieties of poultry or the project could introduce kuroilers, which are faster growing than local chicken, but are hearty and disease resistant. They require some feed, but can also eat kitchen scraps and are not as particular as broilers and layers, who depend on the availability of properly formulated feeds and require a lot of capital.
Non-agricultural livelihoods options Research the potential for supporting individual youths or youth groups in non-farming trades, such as construction, petty trading, repair and mechanics businesses, etc., perhaps in conjunction with technical/vocational skills training (see below). This needs a different market study as few details were given related to these vocations, except that youth would benefit from engaging in masonry, carpentry and other building activities.
Technical / vocational skills training related to the above technical areas The potential TVET interventions should only be based on the necessary technical trainings demanded by the above agricultural sector areas and non-agricultural livelihood activities, based on a market assessment and a labor market assessment conducted to understand the skills demanded by businesses in the woredas. Most of the trainings discussed above could be carried out through TVET centers, therefore a long-term venue is needed.
8.5. Recommendations for access to finance The government youth fund does not yet appear to have traction at the local level. However, it is critical that the project works very closely with the government as it prepares for this fund to be accessible to the youth. The LRO project should explain that this is also on its agenda and that implementation can be done in a coordinated manner.
While working closely with the woreda offices, the project should focus on: 1) rectifying the current lack of access to finance; and 2) preparing young people to access the fund once it is available. This could be done by forming youth groups that engage in group savings, and working with a local bank. Young people can then begin to form a banking history and credit. This is the single most important factor for accessing credit from regular banks, which usually have lower interest rates than microfinance institutions. If borrowers have a solid banking history, the banks are more likely to lend, especially if there is an agreement with an NGO for a guarantee facility. Since most young people are literate, opening a savings account through a bank should not be a challenge. 8.5.1. Savings and Internal Lending Community partnership with the government and local banks A Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC) is a group of people who save together and take small loans from their savings. Most SILC programs develop groups of about 20 members who keep a lock box with the members, where each member contributes a specific amount of money and the project will match this fund. This does not enable a savings history, which can inform a bank about the credit worthiness of customers. Therefore, it is recommended that the project engage the government and the banks to forge a public–private partnership to support group credit building, by potentially changing the traditional lock box to a secure bank account, which has the proper controls in place, depending on the availability of banks in the rural areas.
32 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Government youth fund As the government prepares to access the youth fund, the project should work with the office of Microfinance and Small Business to understand which financial institutions they plan to utilize to administer this fund. The project should encourage the department to work with a finance institution that has savings services.
SILC The project should make a public call to youth who are interested in small business and who want to organize themselves into savings groups. It should be made clear that the youth will have to put up some money in order to enter the group. What the project will offer is a matching grant from the project finance fund, technical skills training, organizational training and continued support as they build their businesses. Mixed groups of men and women may be beneficial due to the ability of men to access more resources than women, and also to promote buy-in from the men for the women’s success. Groups should initially engage in the traditional SILC process, with the addition of having savings held at a selected bank and not in a box (banking facility permitting).
Livelihoods groups These savings groups should be specific livelihoods groups, where each member has a similar enterprise and they are organized to market together. For example, a group should be formed around an activity such as beekeeping or animal husbandry. These groups could get specific skills training, potentially have specific financial projects developed for them, and will have SILC trainings.
• Collective marketing: Groups could be encouraged to market together, enabling them to have greater influence and to take advantage of economies of scale. For example, they will be able to pool resources to hire transportation or construct a store, which would otherwise be too expensive for an individual enterprise. This can be done formally through engaging young people in collective marketing training and working with them to begin to think through how they manage and finance this. The project could then create a capital fund intervention to serve those mini-chains that see growth. For example, as the business starts to grow, potentially in the second or third year of the project, a new finance project could be introduced geared at collective marketing to finance larger assets, such as simple transportation vehicles or the construction of a joint storage facility. • Individual enterprises: While groups save together, they could each have their own individual enterprise rather than a group business, which could result in a negative group dynamic and short-lived enterprises.
Savings and credit cooperative societies (SACCOs) These are more long-term savings organizations that also enable larger sums of credit to be accumulated for entrepreneurial purposes. The livelihoods groups could gradually graduate to savings and credit cooperative societies, or SACCOs. These societies enable more and more members to join and save with the group. The lending groups that survive and become strong, should then be trained on how to manage a SACCO, and those strong SACCOs could welcome more members to create a larger finance pool.
Asset finance One option for the LRO financing fund is to support micro-leasing on a lease-to-own basis. This could be done through a local microfinance institution or a regular bank or, to bring down the interest costs, the project could set up a facility with a local partner to implement the program. Microfinance
33 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT institutions can be very expensive for a micro-leasing program as they will charge high interest rates. If it is within the project mandate, the interest rate could be subsidized by the project, either through giving the microfinance institution a grant to cover its overheads or granting the institution the equipment for the micro-lease. If the project expects to get the fund back from the microfinance institution, it will be difficult to get a reduced interest rate. This asset finance facility could be used by different enterprises. For example, if groups want to engage in beekeeping, but do not have enough finance to build a hive, the project could work with a local finance institution and a group of local carpenters to create the hives, which could be leased to young people on a lease-to-own basis through the fund.
In the second year of the project, the assets could be focused on technology that would improve collective marketing. For example, once the groups are organized and the enterprises have been running for about a year, the project could advertise appropriate assets such as transportation equipment, which would expand their ability to market. The groups would need to decide which equipment would be of most benefit to the entire group.
8.6. Recommendations for community engagement The project could engage the community by publicizing the interventions that would be implemented by the LRO project, encourage local government to better publicize public initiatives for youth development and increase awareness of the various government programs, while encouraging community feedback and setting up a community response mechanism. The main recommendations and steps here would be to: • Develop a communication and engagement strategy for the community • Support government publicity and awareness events • Set up community feedback-and-response mechanisms
8.7. Gender-specific prerequisite activities As there were several differentiators between male and female youth, there should be activities that focus on resolving these differences. Some of these are related to the behavior exhibited by men and women and others are related to cultural and community norms. • Young men: Respondents said men’s negative mind-set led to drug use. This mind-set was attributed to a lack of hope created by a lack of opportunity. As the LRO project plans to impact the lack of opportunity, it is important that it is paired with psychosocial counselling and personal development opportunities, to support changing the mind-set of these young men to engage in productive activities. As noted, many were also looking for jobs that fit their education and that were white collar in nature. It will be important to support a mind-set that boosts self‑employment. Interventions are: • Group psychosocial counselling involving addiction counselling to support male youth in getting off drugs, mainly khat.13 • As part of life skills training: Personal development workshopping and training to build self‑efficacy and confidence. Young men could be encouraged to accept different types of business and self-employment activities as respectable.
13. A leaf chewed as a stimulant.
34 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT • Young women: It will be important to engage the community and other stakeholders in planning livelihoods activities. As many of the views related to women’s work were still very traditional in most woredas, it would be helpful to engage in community consultations to avoid conflict and also to work on sensitization for women to be engaged in non-traditional activities on a larger scale. While many woredas did say that young women were the major income earners, engaging in both savings and small business, it was clear that the majority of stakeholders were used to women engaging in work around the home. The community sensitization work will discuss involving young women in both small business and even larger business opportunities, which may require more capital, and ownership of assets such as land, which is still not conventionally allotted to them.
8.8. Recommendations for government engagement The data supports an assumption that the capacity of the government in technical areas is minimal, which is backed up by the fact that it lacks experience in implementing most programs related to youth. The LRO project should focus on the coordination and strengthening of government technical capacity for offices/departments (see below). The youth interventions could be implemented alongside government efforts, but the government should not be the main implementing actor for LRO. Instead, LRO should be supported by a local partner who in turn is supported by technical experts. The LRO project should also try to avoid programmatic duplication, overlap, and interventions that lack coordination. Instead, the project should encourage coordination across all government sectors both in the planning and implementation of youth development programs.
Coordination with the government should focus on the following offices. The interventions with each of these government offices should be coordinated within each woreda and also within each sector. The project should try to avoid overlap and/or interventions that lack coordination: 8.8.1. Cooperatives and Marketing, and Pastoralist Development and Agriculture These two offices are important for both the organization and the technical aspects of the livelihoods groups that the project will create. While the LRO project does not have a development fund, it could work with these departments to build awareness of a collective savings culture among the livelihoods groups, and help to develop SACCOs in the long term. 8.8.2. Microfinance and Small Business The LRO project could work with youth and youth livelihoods groups to develop a savings culture and to shift them into savings cooperatives in the long-term. This should happen in conjunction with the Microfinance and Small Business office to ensure that the groups follow government rules and can later be incorporated as borrowers for the youth development fund when it is rolled out. This office could eventually facilitate linkages with other MFIs. 8.8.3. Youth and Sport, and Women and Child Welfare These two offices could be worked with as part of the overall coordination. The office of Women and Child Welfare could provide support in ensuring that women’s roles and their ability to be successful within the livelihoods groups was enhanced by the project.
35 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT REFERENCES
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36 MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ASSESSMENT OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT www.feedthefuture.gov