Language is the medium through which we describe our perception of the world and through it, we build and maintain relationships. In that sense then words, and by extension language, are a powerful tool.
Mass media use language to communicate with their audience and as such wield immense power in influencing and shaping society.
As a policy enthusiast with an interest in designing development interventions, I have been observing how mass media frame issues in the agri-food sector, especially the reporting of non-involvement of the youth in agriculture and its implications.
Agriculture contributes almost 30 per cent of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product directly and another 25 per cent indirectly through linkages to other sectors. The sector employs more than 40 per cent of the population and accounts for 65 per cent of the country’s export earnings.
However, only 10 per cent of the country’s youthful population is engaged in the sector, with the average age of the Kenyan farmer being 55.
For a country struggling with a high youth unemployment rate, it has been argued that agriculture could create much-needed jobs.
In response, the government and development partners have come up with various policy interventions anchored on the Kenya Agribusiness Youth Strategy. But let us look at how some of these interventions are reported by the media:
Agriculture ministry focuses on luring youth into farming. Cabinet Secretary raises alarm over ‘old and dying’ farmers. Online hub lures ‘digital’ youth back to farms. Government making agriculture ‘cool’ for the youth. State uses Sh22 billion to lure youth into farming. Youth rejection of agriculture hindering Kenya’s productivity. Sh2 bn credit plan to lure youth to agribusiness. Leaders advised to make agriculture ‘sexy’ to woo youth.
These headlines are not confined to local media as evidenced by a 2019 article in a popular American newspaper that carried the following headline about Ghana: Millennials ‘Make Farming Sexy’ in Africa, Where Tilling the Soil Once Meant Shame.
While these headlines could be well-intended, they somehow convey stereotypes that for young people to engage in agriculture they must be baited, or that the economic activity is for the older generation.
Such framing by the media obscures the real challenge of a sector that is characterised by low productivity and uncertainties arising from the markets or the weather, and take us further from solutions.
Further, such reporting draws young people with high expectations to agriculture only for them to opt out when reality sinks in.
Caleb Karuga, a farmer and youth influencer in agriculture, says it is time state and non-state actors took another look at how they market agriculture to the youth. He says it can be ‘cool and sexy’, but there is need to tell the whole story, including the amount of work needed and risks involved.
Anne Munene, a farmer and a commentator on pasture production in arid and semi-arid lands, commends the media for filling the gap left by extension services in providing agricultural information including market linkages. She however cautions on the danger of sensational agriculture news that she says borders on misinformation.
While the agri-food value chain has the potential to lift millions of Kenyans out of poverty by enhancing food and nutritional security and creating jobs, there is a need to package this information in a balanced way.
Perhaps, we should challenge the government to address hindrances to youth engagement in agribusiness such as access to land, water, credit, information, and market linkages to make the sector profitable. And in the pursuit of money, the youth themselves will tell us how ‘cool’ agriculture is.
Food systems researcher
