Out with the Old, in with the New?: How Agritech Is Transforming Youth Unemployment in Rural South Africa
Out with the Old, in with the New?: How Agritech Is Transforming Youth Unemployment in Rural South Africa
Thursday, 10 July 2025: 13:30
Location: ASJE015 (Annex of the Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences)
Oral Presentation
In 2024 Statistics South African reporting a shocking 45,5% unemployment rate among young individuals aged 15-34 years (2024). Within this number lies a vulnerable group of young people located in rural areas away from the job prospects present, albeit scares, in urban areas. The marginalisation of young people in rural areas is further exacerbated by their comparatively low education and literacy levels, less access to information and entrepreneurial opportunities.
With these challenges in place, what happens when a disruptive innovation enters the equation? Cukier (2019) has argued that while some have forecasted that disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, will impact the world of work in profound ways, social innovations and inclusion paired with these technologies can give young people a fighting chance. That is to say, it is both productive and beneficial to consider the potential gains rather than the losses of such innovations.
This paper explores Cukier’s thinking by presenting evidence from the lives and journeys of rural KwaZulu Natal (South Africa) youths working as project implementors on a blockchain, insurance and market access product called AgriSmart. Aimed at giving access and opportunity to small scale farmers who would otherwise have no entry point to commercial markets, AgriSmart has done the double-work of integrating farmers, while giving young people hope for a brighter future. In this paper it is urged that through training, upskilling and entrepreneurship opportunities, this digital disruptor has created better rather than worse circumstances for rural communities. As such it is demonstrated how digital disruptors such as AgriSmart can change both the world of work and the agricultural eco-system.
With these challenges in place, what happens when a disruptive innovation enters the equation? Cukier (2019) has argued that while some have forecasted that disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence, will impact the world of work in profound ways, social innovations and inclusion paired with these technologies can give young people a fighting chance. That is to say, it is both productive and beneficial to consider the potential gains rather than the losses of such innovations.
This paper explores Cukier’s thinking by presenting evidence from the lives and journeys of rural KwaZulu Natal (South Africa) youths working as project implementors on a blockchain, insurance and market access product called AgriSmart. Aimed at giving access and opportunity to small scale farmers who would otherwise have no entry point to commercial markets, AgriSmart has done the double-work of integrating farmers, while giving young people hope for a brighter future. In this paper it is urged that through training, upskilling and entrepreneurship opportunities, this digital disruptor has created better rather than worse circumstances for rural communities. As such it is demonstrated how digital disruptors such as AgriSmart can change both the world of work and the agricultural eco-system.