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Thinking beyond Ecology: Can Reskilling Youth Lead to Sustainable Transitions in Agri-Food Systems?

Author

Listed:
  • Deborah Dutta

    (Institute of Rural Management Anand, Anand 388001, India)

  • C. Shambu Prasad

    (Institute of Rural Management Anand, Anand 388001, India)

  • Arnab Chakraborty

    (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, New Delhi 110012, India)

Abstract

Green and decent work in the Global South is inextricably linked to sustaining rural livelihoods especially in agriculture that has undergone significant deskilling under the top-down, technocentric assemblages of the Green Revolution. Additionally, agrarian communities are also seeing youth quitting farming occupations in search of better livelihood options. Scholarly attention to green transitions though has been largely limited to the ecological dimensions. Enacting futures with a focus on ecologically responsible livelihoods need to go beyond existing narratives of technocentric and economic change and foreground the diverse micro institutional innovations that offer newer framings of reskilling. The growing evidence of agroecological initiatives across India indicates less discussed stories of transformation and innovations. Recognising the processes and linkages that allow for, and hinder, transformations at multiple scales and organisational levels is crucial for designing transformative initiatives and policies. Using two illustrative case studies, this paper explores opportunities for green work and the newer skills that might be required to enable sustainable agri-food systems. The case of Natural Farming Fellows (NFFs), a unique programme to encourage young agri-graduates to pursue Natural Farming is presented to understand enabling processes at the grassroots level. The second study explores institutional initiatives to engage rural youth through discussing the pedagogy and curricular approach of a Gandhian university along with opportunities to intern with field organisations. Together, these cases illustrate possible pathways and complexities underlying the process of nurturing sustainable livelihoods, the conception of which needs a broader idea of skilling based on personal aspirations and institutional support.

Suggested Citation

  • Deborah Dutta & C. Shambu Prasad & Arnab Chakraborty, 2023. "Thinking beyond Ecology: Can Reskilling Youth Lead to Sustainable Transitions in Agri-Food Systems?," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:9:p:478-:d:1228005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vanloqueren, Gaëtan & Baret, Philippe V., 2009. "How agricultural research systems shape a technological regime that develops genetic engineering but locks out agroecological innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 971-983, July.
    2. Annemarie Groot-Kormelinck & Jos Bijman & Jacques Trienekens & Laurens Klerkx, 2022. "Producer organizations as transition intermediaries? Insights from organic and conventional vegetable systems in Uruguay," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1277-1300, December.
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