• The mapping of existing young farmer organisations, farmer organisations addressing youth issues and rural organisations representing young farmer interests. Through a short on-line questionnaire sent out widely to national and regional farmer organisations and networks all over the world, we aim at identifying and establishing a data base of young farmer organisations in the three continents.
  
  
• A survey to identify specific needs, challenges, expectations and aspirations for youth, women and men, while entering into farming activities. Prior to the survey will be a desk review analysing past and existing programmes and initiatives addressed to rural youth in developing and developed countries. A detailed questionnaire will also be addressed to farmer organisation leaders identified during the mapping to gather success stories and best practices in promoting young farmers both men and women. The factors of success and failure of youth entering into farming as well as the responsibilities of the different stakeholders (farmer organisations, institutions, governments, family…) will be identified and will help to make specific recommendations in favour of rural youth.
  
  
• Three consultation workshops in presence of farmer organisations representatives. In 2011, MIJARC will organise and facilitate three regional meetings in Asia, Latin America and Africa to share experiences and further discuss findings emerging from the survey process. Each consultation will be an opportunity to draw up regional and country specific recommendations on how to address issues faced by young farmers in the context of sectoral policies and development programmes. Participants to these workshops will be selected upon their contribution to the mapping and survey activities.
  
  

Outcomes of the project:

The findings and recommendations emerging from this process will be presented at a special session for young farmers during the fourth global meeting of IFAD’s Farmers’ Forum in February 2012 in IFAD HQ.  We trust that the results of this initiative will help at the formulation of successful measures and policies, meeting young rural men and women’s specific needs.  We hope it will also contribute to influence the discussions at institutional level towards a youth mainstreaming approach applied to all agricultural development programmes in the future.

Some results have been shared at the recent Farmer Forum which took place at IFAD in Rome in February 2012.

About MIJARC/More information about the project:

The International Movement of Catholic Agricultural Rural Youth is an international movement with member movements in four continents. For more information: http://mijarc.org/