The national ecolabel of tourist accommodation establishments and rural tourism enterprises of Latvia – the ‘Green Certificate’ (hereinafter the ‘Green Certificate’) celebrated its 20ᵗʰ anniversary in 2019. Its creation in 1999 was initiated by the Latvian Rural Tourism Association ‘Baltic Country Holidays’, and it is currently one of the oldest European ecolabels still in operation. One of the most significant tourism and rural tourism resources in Latvia is the natural and cultural heritage, which is the basis for the development of rural tourism products. In this process, ecosystem services used in tourism products play a major role. One of the goals of the ‘Green Certificate’ is environment, nature and local society friendly and sustainable farming, which means both a careful use of natural resources and their inclusion in the tourism product development process. The aim of this study was to find out which ecosystem services were used and the ways they were used by rural tourism companies to create the nature protection, social and economic added value. According to the respondents, 1/3 of the revenue of the ‘Green Certificate’ companies is generated by the use of the ecosystem services. It is an argument for further research on the possibilities of the ecosystem services to be used more effectively in future in developing new rural tourism products.

The national ecolabel of tourist accommodation establishments and rural tourism enterprises of Latvia – the ‘Green Certificate’ (hereinafter the ‘Green Certificate’) celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019. Its creation in 1999 was initiated by the Latvian Rural Tourism Association ‘Baltic Country Holidays’, and it is currently one of the oldest European ecolabels still in operation. One of the most significant tourism and rural tourism resources in Latvia is the natural and cultural heritage, which is the basis for the development of rural tourism products. In this process, ecosystem services used in tourism products play a major role. One of the goals of the ‘Green Certificate’ is environment, nature and local society friendly and sustainable farming, which means both a careful use of natural resources and their inclusion in the tourism product development process. The aim of this study was to find out which ecosystem services were used and the ways they were used by rural tourism companies to create the nature protection, social and economic added value. According to the respondents, 1/3 of the revenue of the ‘Green Certificate’ companies is generated by the use of the ecosystem services. It is an argument for further research on the possibilities of the ecosystem services to be used more effectively in future in developing new rural tourism products.

Unemployment is a major issue in Nigeria because the youth finds it difficult or impossible to secure jobs that meet their expectations. There appears to be a mismatch between graduate skills and those sought by employers. The study investigated the effect of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) youth Agripreneurs (IYA) programme on employment and income generation on cattle fattening enterprise under the N2Africa Borno youth project. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select IYA participants and non-participants. Results revealed that the majority of respondents were males in both categories. It also indicated that youths who are in their productive age are more into cattle fattening enterprise in both categories. The study also found that, unemployment and skill acquisition are the main driving reasons for participating in IYA. It also indicated that both categories of respondents’ required external capital support for start-up of their enterprise, and that IYA programme participants on the average earn more income per month than non-participants. IYA programme participants generated more employment opportunities which implied that the programme had not only empowered participants but also made the participants’ become employers. The study recommended that there is a need to support youths with funds, access to trainings on capacity development and skill acquisition to make them self-employed and job creators.

Unemployment is a major issue in Nigeria because the youth finds it difficult or impossible to secure jobs that meet their expectations. There appears to be a mismatch between graduate skills and those sought by employers. The study investigated the effect of International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) youth Agripreneurs (IYA) programme on employment and income generation on cattle fattening enterprise under the N2Africa Borno youth project. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select IYA participants and non-participants. Results revealed that the majority of respondents were males in both categories. It also indicated that youths who are in their productive age are more into cattle fattening enterprise in both categories. The study also found that, unemployment and skill acquisition are the main driving reasons for participating in IYA. It also indicated that both categories of respondents’ required external capital support for start-up of their enterprise, and that IYA programme participants on the average earn more income per month than nonparticipants. IYA programme participants generated more employment opportunities which implied that the programme had not only empowered participants but also made the participants’ become employers. The study recommended that there is a need to support youths with funds, access to trainings on capacity development and skill acquisition to make them self-employed and job creators.