Africa stands at a critical demographic crossroads. Home to over 400 million young people aged 15 to 35, Africa is officially the youngest continent on the planet, with more than 60 percent of its total population under 25. As governments search for reliable pathways to drive inclusive growth, combat food insecurity, and absorb millions of new labor market entrants each year, agrifood systems remain our most promising economic platform. Yet, for more than a decade under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Malabo framework, our measure of youth progress in agriculture was reduced to a single, narrow metric: how many new jobs were created for youth in agricultural value chains. While useful in its time, counting heads is no longer enough.
A single employment metric presents several critical policy limitations. First, the scope was far too narrow. By focusing heavily on direct farm jobs, the old indicator completely missed the vast array of modern agrifood opportunities emerging in services, processing, cold-chain logistics, retail, agtech, digital extension, and climate-smart enterprises. Second, it prioritized quantity over quality. Counting jobs without measuring wage fairness, safety, social protection, career progression, or enterprise survival past the critical two-year mark offers very little insight into whether young people are building sustainable livelihoods. Third, it lacked causal insight. An outcome number alone cannot explain why youth are succeeding or failing, leaving policymakers in the dark about whether bottlenecks stem from a lack of land access, insufficient credit, poor technical training, or a lack of policy representation. Furthermore, across five CAADP Biennial Review cycles, uneven country capacity to collect and disaggregate youth-specific data severely impacted data reliability and cross-country comparability. Ultimately, a single job metric can no longer keep pace with the broader, multidimensional inclusion, climate resilience, and governance goals set under the African Agribusiness Youth Strategy (AAYS) and the Kampala CAADP Agenda.
To fix this measurement gap, AGRA, alongside the African Union Commission (AUC), AUDA-NEPAD, IFPRI, and the University of Ibadan, has developed the Youth in Agrifood Systems Performance Index (YAPI). Conceived as a policy intelligence tool, YAPI measures how effectively a country’s agrifood system builds youth capabilities, expands access, guarantees market opportunities, elevates youth voice, and strengthens resilience against shocks. Its underlying theory of change tracks a clear sequence, progressing directly from capabilities to productive access, economic opportunities, governance and voice, resilience, and ultimately youth-inclusive transformation.
To achieve this, YAPI evaluates national performance across five distinct analytical domains. The first domain, Education, Skills, and Technology, tracks Agri-TVET graduation rates, digital technology adoption, and structured mentorship pipelines. The second, Productive Resources and Services, assesses equitable youth access to land rights, irrigation, quality inputs, financial services, advisory support, mechanization, and renewable energy.
The third domain, Economic Opportunities, measures new agrifood job creation, startup registration, enterprise survival beyond 24 months, market access, decent working conditions such as fair wages and social protection, and private-sector hiring incentives. The fourth, Policy Engagement and Governance, evaluates the existence of evidence-based youth policies, active youth participation in sector dialogues, youth leadership in agrifood cooperatives, and the implementation rate of youth-led policy proposals. Finally, Sustainability and Resilience to Shocks measures the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, access to climate information, agricultural insurance coverage, and youth enterprise recovery from climate, market, and social shocks.
The official continental launch of YAPI takes place in Abuja, Nigeria, during the 9th Africa Agriculture Science Week (AASW9) from July 27 to 30, 2026. Organised jointly by the African Union, AUDA-NEPAD, and AGRA under the theme “Empowering Young People to Transform Africa’s Food Systems,” the unveiling marks a decisive move toward data-driven accountability.
Lessons from YAPI’s 11-country pilot phase, which included Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Eswatini, Morocco, Malawi, The Gambia, Uganda, and Tunisia, highlighted that while data for skills and job creation is relatively accessible, significant data gaps remain around governance and climate resilience. Addressing these gaps will require stronger inter-ministerial coordination and phased implementation across national statistical systems.
YAPI is not meant to be an academic exercise; it offers four practical use cases for national transformation. As a policy diagnostic, it pinpoints specific systemic bottlenecks, distinguishing whether youth need more business training or simply better access to land and capital, so governments can implement targeted reforms.
In planning and budget allocation, YAPI helps Ministries of Agriculture, Finance, and Budget align public expenditures and National Agriculture and Food Security Investment Plans (NASIPs) to specific constraints. To promote mutual accountability and learning, it replaces narrow metrics within the CAADP Biennial Review (BR) framework, facilitating richer peer-to-peer learning among African nations. Lastly, for partner alignment, it provides a unified, evidence-based benchmark that helps development partners, civil society, and the private sector align their investments and technical support.
For YAPI to drive real change, it cannot operate as an isolated reporting tool. It must be embedded directly into CAADP governance systems, Joint Sector Reviews (JSRs), Regional Investment Plans (RASIPs), and national budget oversight platforms. While continental guidance is provided by the AUC and AUDA-NEPAD, national ownership requires joint leadership from Ministries of Finance, Agriculture, Youth, Trade, and Labour, alongside National Statistics Offices. Cross-sectoral backing from high-level leadership, such as the Office of the President or the Prime Minister, will be essential to ensure these insights translate into concrete budgetary commitments. If Africa is to convert its youth dividend into agricultural prosperity, we must measure what truly matters. YAPI provides the policy compass needed to move from political rhetoric to measurable, transformative delivery for Africa’s young food system leaders.
