NewAfrican: Youth Exodus – Is Africa being Turned Into a Giant Farm?

About 34 million people left Africa and became international migrants in 2015, more than 2 percent of the continent’s population and a slightly higher percentage than those migrating from Asia. Kalundi Serumaga, writing for NewAfrican, describes the many young Africans fleeing conflict and poverty, trying to enter Europe or arrange low-paying menial jobs in the Middle East. “Most of these youths are lured by glowing promises of good jobs and the chance to make money by smooth-talking recruitment firms,” he writes. The world’s population is expected to expand from 7.4 billion to 11 billion before 2100, and he echoes concerns expressed by Erik Solheim of the UN Environment Programme about increasing interest in African lands by global agri-interests, reducing land holdings for wildlife or small farms operated by Africans. He suggests that “the African countryside may be more financially valuable to those that dominate global decision-making processes when denuded of people and wildlife, than in its current state.” He also questions if African governments could do more to protect Africa’s natural resources as well as the traditional farming and pastoral communities while creating new opportunities for young Africans. – YaleGlobal