The impact of skills development initiatives for adolescents on climate adaptive livelihoods in south-western Bangladesh

Abstract

Nearly 23 per cent of Bangladesh’s total population is aged between 10 and 19. This large population group is termed as adolescent and considered the most potential source of country’s future labour force. However, a larger portion of them has limited scope for acquiring knowledge and skills for self-development and participate in income generating activities. Particularly, in south-western region of Bangladesh adolescents are much more disadvantaged in this regard as there agricultural based livelihood system has been shifted from traditional paddy cultivation to aquaculture and homestead based small scale agricultural activities due to the erroneous effects of climate change. Considering the present context, BRAC has implemented a pilot project titled ‘Skills Development Initiatives for Adolescents (SDIA) on climate adaptive livelihoods’in two districts of south-western Bangladesh to promote some agricultural technologies among the adolescents so that they can develop their skills and engage in income generating activities (IGAs).