at the same time agricultural productivity growth must be supported by agricultural research and extension that is relevant and accessible also for smallscale farmers social protection programmes can play a key role in helping farmers and rural residents to cope with shocks and invest in productive activities and human resources finally implementing policies aimed at promoting youth employment in rural areas as well as employability of youth through education and training is particularly important from a migration perspective strengthening the forward and backward linkages between agriculture and the broader food system is essential to increasing agricultural productivity and creating broader market integration opportunities for smallholder farmers