African farming must modernise and replace its ageing workforce if the continent is going to be able to feed its rising population, a report by leading economists has warned.

With the agricultural sector seen as an epicentre of growth and development across the African continent, many (myself included) have argued that the sector needs to attract young talent in order to maximise its potential.

Nobody wants to be trapped in a menial, minimum-wage job. Yet in commercial and subsistence agriculture alike, these are the vast majority of jobs that the sector offers young South Africans.

Persistent unemployment has becomesynonymous with the youth experienceacross South Africa. Youth unemployment rates are almostfour times higherthan the regional average – 62% of South Africans between 15 and 35 years areunemployedand of these 60% havenever been employed .

In 2015, a twenty-seven-year-old Lesego Holzapfel moved home to South Africa from the UK to build a sustainable business that invested in agriculture’s most marginalized voices.

For obvious reasons, the most physically demanding jobs — roofers, pile drivers, fishermen, lumberjacks, take your pick of many others — are primarily filled by people no older than 40. But farming, a mixture of hard work and long hours, even as technology automates some tasks, is a dramatic outlier.

Young people should realise that they do not need to own land in order to earn good money or have a career in agriculture or farming.

An insightful video saw young adults challenged to guess the occupation of a farmer based on his clothing – proving that one in three have no idea about what is involved in farming.

Agriculture has long been the backbone of South Africa’s economy, contributing to food security, employment, and rural development.