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In Africa, policymakers and development practitioners focus heavily on making farming more attractive for the youth. To reach this goal, different actions are proposed, often emphasising the need for modern technology. These proposed actions are mostly based on anecdotes and prior policy beliefs. Using interviews and drawing exercises, this article shows that the aspirations, opinions and perceptions of adolescents (pre-youth) and youth are more diverse than assumed by the prevailing orthodoxies. The findings suggest that policymakers and development practitioners should pay more attention to their views, comprising environmental and social concerns, to avoid misguided policies.

African farm systems remain the least mechanized of all continents. There were substantial state-led efforts to promote agricultural mechanization during the 1960s and 1970s, but these efforts failed, which led to a subsequent neglect of mechanization, both in practice and in academia. In practice, this situation has changed more recently as governments, development practitioners and private companies have re-discovered agricultural mechanization as a top priority. In academia, scholars are also gradually devoting more effort to study mechanization. However, there is still a large gap in the literature from several decades of neglecting mechanization. In this empirical vacuum, several claims around mechanization have emerged in the public debate. While some of them are accurate, many are too simplistic and some are plainly wrong or 'myths'. Such popular myths can mislead policies and programs to promote mechanization and lead to adverse effects on farmers. This paper presents a fact check on nine propositions regarding mechanization. Which ones are true? Which ones are false? To answer these questions, the study uses most of the recent literature on mechanization, thereby also providing a review of the current literature on agricultural mechanization in Africa. The paper draws up implications for future research and action.

African farm systems remain the least mechanized of all continents. There were substantial state-led efforts to promote agricultural mechanization during the 1960s and 1970s, but these efforts failed, which led to a subsequent neglect of mechanization, both in practice and in academia. In practice, this situation has changed more recently as governments, development practitioners and private companies have re-discovered agricultural mechanization as a top priority. In academia, scholars are also gradually devoting more effort to study mechanization. However, there is still a large gap in the literature from several decades of neglecting mechanization. In this empirical vacuum, several claims around mechanization have emerged in the public debate. While some of them are accurate, many are too simplistic and some are plainly wrong or "myths". Such popular myths can mislead policies and programs to promote mechanization and lead to adverse effects on farmers. This paper presents a fact check on nine propositions regarding mechanization. Which ones are true? Which ones are false? To answer these questions, the study uses most of the recent literature on mechanization, thereby also providing a review of the current literature on agricultural mechanization in Africa. The paper draws up implications for future research and action.

AbstractWith agriculture considered key to generating jobs for Africa's growing population, several studies have explored youth aspirations toward farming. While many factors explaining aspirations have been well studied, little is known about the actors' shaping aspirations. We developed a novel framework that focuses on the factors and actors shaping the formation and actual aspirations of rural youth and applied a unique "whole‐family" approach based on mixed‐methods data collection from adolescents (boys and girls) and corresponding adults. We applied this approach in rural Zambia, collecting data from 348 adolescents and adults in 87 households. The study finds that parents strongly shape youth aspirations—they are much more influential than siblings, peers, church, and media. Male youth are more likely to envision farming (full or part‐time) than female youth. The male preference for farming reflects their parent's aspirations and is reinforced by the patriarchal system of land inheritance. Parents' farm characteristics, such as degree of mechanization, are also associated with aspirations. We recommend a "whole‐family" approach, which acknowledges the influential role of parents, for policies and programs for rural youth and a stronger focus on gender aspects.

AbstractDigital agriculture offers far‐reaching opportunities for accelerating agricultural transformation. Based on empirical evidence and guided by economic theory, this study shows that digital agriculture is driven by private firms, including established input firms and global software firms and start‐ups that are new to agriculture. Although there are concerns that digital agriculture will enhance the market power of large agribusiness enterprises and increase the digital divide, a combination of new actors and public action can help accelerate the supply of digital agricultural technology, manage threats of market concentration, and harness the opportunities of digital agriculture for all.