Enhancing youth resilience to agri-food system shocks: a pathway to climate justice

Summary

This scoping review examines how youth in low- and middle-income countries experience and respond to agri-food system vulnerabilities driven by climate change, economic disruptions, and conflict. The authors reveal a significant gap in research quantifying youth-specific vulnerabilities and resilience strategies, whilst identifying compounding risks arising from interactions among climate impacts, health constraints, food insecurity, and governance failures. The study proposes a climate-justice-informed conceptual framework emphasising youth agency, equitable resource access, and inclusive governance to chart pathways toward socially inclusive and climate-adaptive food systems.

Regional applicability

Whilst the review focuses on low- and middle-income countries, the systems-thinking approach and climate justice framework have potential relevance to United Kingdom youth engagement in agri-food resilience, particularly in addressing rural–urban divides and intergenerational equity in food system transformation. Transfer would require contextualisation to UK income levels, governance structures, and youth employment pathways in agriculture and food systems.

Key measures

Youth vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities in response to agri-food system shocks (climate change, economic disruptions, conflict); education and employment outcomes; systemic interdependencies and feedback loops identified through systems thinking analysis.

Outcomes reported

The scoping review identified limited quantitative research on youth-specific vulnerabilities and resilience strategies within agri-food systems in low- and middle-income countries, and mapped interconnections between climate impacts, food insecurity, governance, education, and employment outcomes. The study developed a conceptual framework integrating climate justice principles into youth-centred resilience-building strategies.

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