Ageing and development

Page 2

Extended working life and lifelong learning

In developed countries, it has long been recommended that older people be allowed to continue to work as long as they wish to or are able. This could have a beneficial impact on their income, on the labour supply, and on pension or social security plans. But in rural areas in developing countries, it may not be feasible. Where heavy manual labour is involved, it may be impractical. In areas stricken by HIV/AIDS, such as in much of Africa, older persons may already be working as long and as hard as they can: many of them, caring for adult children ill with HIV/AIDS, have been forced to take over the farm production in addition to becoming surrogate parents for their grandchildren. But in cases where it may be possible for older persons to work longer, supportive and innovative technical and organizational approaches to work and retirement should be used.

The lifelong-learning approach that has been suggested for retraining and skill enhancement in developed countries has not yet been tested with older persons in the rural environment. Such an undertaking would require large shifts in human resource policies, such as agricultural extension programmes, but it could provide the stimulus for innovative and creative alternatives.

Land tenure, land transfers, and ageing

The potential impact of population ageing on depopulation and land tenure is itself deserving of study. Today it remains poorly understood, together with its gender implications. Much more detailed examination is needed, especially on the need to fund services for older persons in more isolated rural areas. Such marginal areas would probably not be high priorities for social development, but it is incumbent upon modern states and nations to take steps to ensure that older persons in rural areas do not become marginal people.

The transfer of land among different generations may have far-reaching effects on food production, food security and development. Population ageing could change the way, or the stage of life, at which land is ceded from one generation to another. As heads of families and property live longer, there are many possible scenarios. With their parents living longer, adult children might migrate to urban areas. On the other hand, smaller family size could mean less children to share an inheritance, and thus strengthen a family's commitment to a rural and agricultural lifestyle. More generations living at the same time could mean more generations cooperating at the same time.

It is important to recognize that older persons play a dynamic role in the transfer of land from one generation to another, especially in traditional societies. Where land use is communal, it may be decided by the land chief and his fellow elders, based on the principle of seniority. It would be a mistake for policy-makers to overlook the role of older persons, who may hold the most promise for developing new strategies to assure food security and social stability. Establishing constructive policies that collaborate with older persons is crucial to ensure that land transfers are favourable to agriculture and to future food security.

Policy actions and development strategies must take into account the broad-based differences between the ageing process in the developed and developing worlds, and they should specifically suit the different circumstances. It is especially important that such policy actions be developed and carried out locally.

The Food and Agriculture Organization

The Food and Agriculture Organization, headquartered in Italy, is mandated to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living, to improve agricultural productivity, and to better the condition of rural populations. Rural ageing is one of its priorities. FAO has undertaken a series of studies on rural ageing and its effects. The articles can be found on the internet, at www.fao.org/sd.

This article was based on information provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization.

For further information, please contact:

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Marcela Villarreal at marcela.villarreal@fao.org

or

UN Department of Public Information

Tel: (212) 963-0499

E-mail: mediainfo@un.org

Published by the United Nations Department of Public Information DPI/2264 March 2002

    Back to Page 1