Young people's lack of engagement in agriculture is of increasing concern in many emerging economies. A series of studies investigated this engagement in irrigated areas in North Africa and Thailand. The research analysed young people's aspirations, the constraints they face in accessing the resources they need to formalize their engagement, the strategies they implement to overcome these constraints, and to what extent they receive support from public programmes. Many young people in North Africa and Thailand would like to get involved in agriculture and create their own pathways based on their aspirations and the resources available to them. However, the constraints they face limit their capacity to acquire the farms they would like to have, i.e. more innovative and more profitable than the farms managed by the previous generation. Their engagement in agriculture often takes place in informal settings. The majority of young people who overcome these constraints do so without or with limited public support. More effective support for the engagement of a new generation in agriculture will not only require increased investment, but will also need to better account for the diversity of profiles and aspirations of the younger generation. This will be facilitated by increased participation of young people in the design of support programmes.