As Africa joins the rest of the world to commemorate International Migrants Day today, the African Development Bank (ADB) has called on countries in the continent to reconstruct rural areas from zone of economic misery to that of prosperity.
ADB says this will in turn expand economic opportunities for African youth, leading to improvements in their lives, thereby stemming migration.
In a statement yesterday in Abuja, ADB noted that greater economic opportunities would motivate African youth to stay on the continent and live a meaningful life.
As Africa joins the rest of the world to commemorate International Migrants Day today, the African Development Bank (ADB) has called on countries in the continent to reconstruct rural areas from zone of economic misery to that of prosperity.
ADB says this will in turn expand economic opportunities for African youth, leading to improvements in their lives, thereby stemming migration.
In a statement yesterday in Abuja, ADB noted that greater economic opportunities would motivate African youth to stay on the continent and live a meaningful life.
“This requires new agricultural innovations and transforming agriculture into a sector for creating wealth. We must make agriculture a really cool choice for young people,” said Adesina.
Adesina said lack of economic opportunities, conflict, and extreme conditions brought about by climate change are key sources of fragility that often result in the forced migration of peoples desperately seeking alternatives.
He describes these factors as a ‘triangle of disaster’ that drive conflict and extreme violence, which in turn fan economic or forced migrations as reflected in rural-urban, intra-African or international migrations, leading to significant local and international challenges.
