Strengthening decent rural employment opportunities for youth across different processes in the forest value chain in Uganda
This report addresses the subject of decent rural employment for youth in the forestry sector. It is based on case studies carried out across different processes in the value chain within the sector in Uganda, ranging from seedbed development through to plantation management, saw logging and trading. Findings indicate that a considerable number of Uganda’s legal and policy frameworks emphasize the participation of youth in the labour market, especially given that young people constitute a large majority of the country’s population. However, only a few of these frameworks focus on decent work, whether for young people or the country’s workers more generally. The case studies revealed that efforts to provide decent employment were mixed. Larger and more formally oriented forestry enterprises were more likely to focus on decent work provisions for their labourers. Smaller enterprises, while aware of most of their decent work obligations, were unable to implement them due to resource constraints. The case studies also revealed numerous opportunities for youth to participate in the forestry sector.
