Taking youth aspirations in agriculture seriously: implications for livelihood programming in a fragile ecosystem

This study examines the development of career aspirations among young people, focusing on how socio-cultural norms and values shape these aspirations and how rural youth view agriculture and rural life as a livelihood option. The study was conducted in pastoral and agropastoral areas of Ethiopia using a qualitative case study approach.. The study findings reveals that youth aspiration formation is deeply embedded within a complex sociocultural and institutional frameworks, as well as the role expectations as defined by society. Additionally, it highlighted that young men’s and women’s career perceptions and aspirations in agriculture are dynamic processes shaped by changing social norms, environmental factors, personal characteristics and traits, policy contexts, and inter-generational relations. The study challenges dominant policy narratives that portray youth mobility as an ego-centric and impromptu pursuit and equates it with permanent abandonment of agriculture and rural life. Instead, it highlights that the youth mobility into, out of, or return to agriculture and rural areas is often a livelihood strategy consciously employed in response to environmental vagaries, conflict, resource constraints and other socio-economic factors. This understanding underscores the need for policies that recognize youth agency and livelihood strategies. Key recommendations for enhancing youth programming in fragile environments include adopting participatory research approaches to understand the trajectories of youth aspirations, context specific appraoches that distiguished between male and female occupational goals, and tailored interventions that align with the context, aspirations and realiteis of youth in pastoral and argo-pastoral areas .