Young people will inherit one of the greatest challenges that we have all started to struggle with even today: how to feed a rapidly growing world population. What will the future bring considering that the average age of farmers is over 55-60 years old?
The UN Population Fund has recently reported that the estimated global population of people aged 10-24 has hit 1.8 billion, a record high. In Indonesia, a research by McKinsey and Company has also found that the fastest growing urban population also consists of young people. Instead of treating this fact as a threat, we should see the sheer number of youth as a great potential for unprecedented economic and social progress with numerous opportunities to tap into.
Last month, VECO Indonesia and VECO Belgium (now Rikolto) teamed up to visit a high school in Bali, SMAN 4, to speak with the students and learn more about what they envision as food for the future. Attended by 20 students representing the schools English and Research clubs, Caroline Huyghe, VECO Belgium’s Programme Coordinator for Food for the Future introduced the concept of “food for the future” and engaged them in a series of exercises to spark off discussions and thoughts on how to ensure the persistence of local food resources and to continue a healthy and sustainable food heritage well into the future.
