By 2022, research indicates that 3.1 billion people in the world—representing 42 per cent of the global population—were unable to afford a healthy meal. Additionally, 900 million people were severely food insecure, with the hidden social, economic, and environmental costs associated with the food system estimated at $12 trillion.

This calls for innovative approaches to transform food systems. Such approaches should bring about profound shifts across the production, storage, consumption, and disposal of food. What better catalyst exists than technical skills from Technical Vocational Education and Training institutions (TVETs)?

There is a unique awakening of technical skills as anchors for transforming food systems. By design, technical institutions do not limit enrolment based on grades. According to the 2012 UNESCO report, of the 200 million young people who were illiterate in developing economies, 100 million were African – this might have changed for better or worse – creating a barrier to further education.

Without prospects for further education, youth participation in productive activities remains low, leading to migration from rural areas to urban centres, where many are either underemployed or unemployed. Equipping these critical mass of youths with technical skills is a step toward building a robust system that can withstand disturbances occasioned by climate change and other calamities. This calls for reimagination and redesign of technical education.

In previous instalments of this column, I have highlighted how technical skills in water engineering, civil engineering, building technology, solar installation, and many other fields can contribute to food system transformation.

Today, let’s take the most unusual – fashion and design. Do fashion and design skills have anything to do with the food system?

Imagine soil degradation caused by inappropriate disposal of cloth scraps! Can this impact soil fertility and food production? The answer is a big yes.

Take, for instance, entrepreneurs like Tabitha Achieng, who was recently featured in a Kenyan newspaper. With her tailoring skills, she repurposes cloth scraps to create new products, such as toys and seat cushions. Such initiatives help eliminate soil pollution and environmental degradation while also generating income that enables economic access to food.

Africa therefore must galvanise the collective imagination of youths, encouraging them to dedicate time and energy to making food systems work for people and the planet.

I dare say young people are rising to address these challenges. During the Africa Regional Youth Assembly online consultative meeting, with over 221 participants, education plans and policies – including TVETs – were among the key issues explored.

In the breakout session, I joined a group discussing innovative approaches to improving nutrition and food security for vulnerable populations in Africa’s rural and urban areas. Solutions offered ranged from instituting village savings to value addition and enhancing irrigation infrastructure.

However, all these interventions require a package of technical skills. It is, therefore, imperative that the youth declaration to be made in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the Second Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment, ensures the inclusion of technical institutions and skills as crucial levers of food system transformation.

— The writer is a UN global food systems Youth Leader, Vocational and Technical Trainer, and Communication Consultant