Assessment of Factors Influencing Youth Involvement in Horticulture Agribusiness in Tanzania: A Case Study of Njombe Region

Abstract

Involvement of youth in horticulture agribusiness has become a vital approach to create employment opportunities among the youth in Tanzania. This study aimed at examining the extent of youth participation and factors influencing youth involvement in horticulture agribusiness with a focus on innovations in post-harvest management (PHM). Data were collected from a sample of 576 male and female youth in Njombe region using a multi-stage random sampling technique. Data were analyzed using an ordered logit model and descriptive statistics. Results of the ordered logit analysis showed that primary school education, Form IV and above, management innovation, access to credit, good perception of horticulture for agribusiness and improved packaging materials positively and significantly influence youth involvement in horticulture agribusiness. Gender and land size had a negative and significant influence on youth involvement in horticulture agribusiness, as indicated by higher percentages of male youth (59%) participation in the horticulture agribusiness. Therefore, this study suggests increased investment in capacity development of the youth on PHM innovations and the development of rural infrastructure such as agro-processing and storage facilities by the government and private sector. Increasing the availability of improved packaging materials and provision of youth-friendly credit schemes could encourage youth in horticulture agribusiness.

Youth agripreneurship in the horticultural value‐chain: The case of small‐scale mango farmers in Southern Ghana

“…One arm of the literature argues that youth engagement in nonfarm enterprises drives rural development (see Alemu & Adesina, 2017), whereas the other arm argues that youth entrepreneurship in agriculture (agripreneurship) is critical to the development of the local economies of youth through improved income as well as to national development through reduction in unemployment, increase in GDP and improvement in food and nutrition security. The benefits of youth entrepreneurship have led to a heightened interest of academic researchers in ascertaining the drivers of youth agripreneurship (e.g., Adegboye & Iweriebor, 2018; Coker et al, 2017; Magagula & Tsvakirai, 2020; Ng'atigwa et al, 2020; Nwibo et al, 2016; Ogunmodede et al, 2020). These authors highlight that the key factors that drive youth participation in agriculture include education, income levels, household size, access to credit, good perception of agriculture, income levels, and agribusiness training.…”

Economic analysis of youth participation in agripreneurship in Benin

“…This is due to the employment potential of the agricultural sector given that this sector employs nearly 80 percent of the Beninese population ( Adjimoti, 2018 ). To this end, several studies in different countries have examined the willingness of youth to participate in agricultural training programs, pursue agriculture in school or pursue agribusiness as well as the drivers of youth participation in agriculture and agribusiness ( Adeyanju et al., 2021 ; Haruna et al., 2019 ; Magagula and Tsvakirai, 2020 ; Ng'atigwa et al., 2020 ; Twumasi et al., 2019 ). However, there is limited information on drivers of youth choices of different agripreneurship activities as well as their crop production decisions in Benin.…”

The influence of agri-entrepreneurship courses studied on youth farm entrepreneurial intention: Evidence from Folk Development Colleges in Tanzania

“…In addition, Adams, Johanson and Razmara (2013) found that only 39% of self-employed FDC graduates were partly involved in farming. More recently Ng'atigwa et al (2020) found that the youth who completed primary school education are more likely to be involved in horticulture agribusiness by about 9.7 times (odds = 9.7) compared with the youth who have a high level of education.…”