Africa today is the youngest continent on Earth: over 60% of its people are under 25. In markets from Lagos to Nairobi, and fields from Malawi to Mali, these young men and women face a choice that shapes more than their own futures: to hold on, or to move on. For the last two decades, this choice has been at the heart of Africa’s grounded nationalist projects, quiet revolutions in agriculture, and the personal stories of migrants and those who stay behind. Yet considering the seeds of change as: Youth, Food, and Fields

Food and agriculture remain Africa’s biggest employer. Yet for many young people, farming is seen as an old man’s game — backbreaking work under a hot sun, often yielding little.
A 2017 IFAD report showed only about 20–25% of African youth want to farm full-time; most dream of cities, smartphones, and quick money.

But there are exceptions — “agripreneurs” who see potential in value chains: cassava processing in Nigeria, organic vegetables in Senegal, digital marketplaces in Kenya. Some are supported by new policy moves: Nigeria’s YouWin! program, Ghana’s Planting for Food and Jobs, Rwanda’s agri-tech incubators.

These grounded nationalists, often unseen by the media, are modern patriots: they choose to stay rooted and feed their nations.

Roads Taken: Migration Stories

Across the Mediterranean or the Sahara’s shifting sands, millions have taken the road out. Migration is rarely just escape; it’s often hope.
Consider Aliou, who left Guinea at 21, crossed the desert, survived detention in Libya, and now drives a delivery van in Italy. He sends money home, supports three siblings in school, and dreams of starting an import business.

His story is real, repeated from Dakar to Addis. Migration transforms lives: remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa reached $53 billion in 2022 — more than foreign aid.

Roads Not Taken: Workaholic Men at Home

But what about Musa, a workaholic cassava farmer in Cameroon who never left?
His days start before sunrise, end long after dusk. No holidays, no selfies in Europe. But Musa has slowly built something migration can’t buy:

  • A new roof on his mother’s house

  • School fees for his cousin’s children

  • Quiet respect in the village council

His success is local, rooted. He’s never crossed a border, but his work strengthens the ground others stand on.

Nationalism from the Soil Up

In the last 20 years, Africa’s biggest nation-building has often come not from big speeches, but from local heroes:

  • Kenyan youth running water co-ops

  • Nigerian women building rice mills

  • South African farm schools training tomorrow’s agronomists

These are not loud nationalists. They are quiet patriots who build, feed, and educate.

Tradition vs. Modernity: Holding and Losing Power

Here, Africa’s traditional tribes have something modern life forgets: the art of holding.
Traditional men and women carry land stories, clan laws, dances, seeds, and prayers. They hold, so others don’t forget. Power, in traditional Africa, is slow, collective, transmitted.

The modern man, the globalized migrant, helps many — but sometimes loses part of himself. Scattered across WhatsApp groups and urban debts, he risks losing the rope that ties him to land and language.

The traditional man may live poorer, but carries a wealth the modern often forgets: rootedness.

Roots and Roads Together

Africa’s future may lie not in choosing roots or roads — but weaving them.

  • Migrants investing in village schools

  • Youth using mobile apps to sell millet

  • Urban professionals funding hometown clinics

It’s the double power of staying and going. One hand holds the ground; the other reaches beyond.

As Africa’s youth stand at the world’s largest demographic crossroads, the greatest success story may not be the richest migrant or the hardest worker at home, but the one who bridges both: rooted enough to remember, brave enough to explore.