Examining the willingness of youths to participate in agriculture to halt the rising rate of unemployment in South Western Nigeria

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the willingness of unemployed graduates to participate in agriculture with a view to showcase the potentials in Nigerian agriculture especially in the area of employment generation for the youths. Design/methodology/approach The study made use of primary data collected with the aid of structured questionnaires from 180 respondents from the three states of Ondo; Oyo and Osun states are the representative states from the entire South West. The binary logistic regression model was used to identify those factors that influence the willingness of the respondents who were graduates of various disciplines to participate in agriculture. Findings The findings of the study showed that the majority of the respondents interviewed representing 62.8 percent were unemployed with the majority of the respondents (68.3 percent) willing to participate in agriculture given the needed and required supports such as conducive environment by the stakeholders particularly the government. Educational status, marital status, gender, possession of agricultural training and employment status of respondents significantly influenced their willingness to participate in agriculture. Research limitations/implications The greatest limitation of this study is its sample size which is considerably small but considering the peculiarity in the challenges faced by the entire population; this limitation has been overcome, thus, making its findings valid for policy purposes. However, recommendations for further studies that would comprise the entire geopolitical zones of the country to pave way for comparative analysis were made. Originality/value The study is originally carried out by conducting a survey to collect the data and is coming to fill the existing gap in the literature in terms of potentials embedded in Nigerian agriculture to assist the government in providing employment opportunities for teeming youths.

Youth Participation in Agriculture and Poverty Reduction in Nigeria

“…where Z is the relative poverty line, n is the number of respondents below the poverty line, N is the number of respondents in the reference population, Y i is per capita average income of the ith household, and Z − Y i is the poverty gap of the ith household, Z−Y i Z is the poverty gap ratio. α is the poverty aversion parameter and takes values 0, 1, and 2, α = 0, Equation (13) gives the poverty headcount α = 1, Equation (13) gives the poverty depth α = 2, and Equation (13) gives the poverty severity index.…”

Impact of Intensive Youth Participation in Agriculture on Rural Households’ Revenue: Evidence from Rice Farming Households in Nigeria

“…However, household size negatively influenced participation. In the same vein, Fawole and Ozkan [15] examined the willingness of unemployed graduates in Nigeria to participate in agriculture to solve the problem of youth unemployment. The authors found out that gender, education, having attended agricultural training, and marital status significantly influenced the willingness of youths to participate in agriculture.…”

Youth's (Un)willingness to work in agriculture sector

“…Moreover, young people need to be persuaded to view the sector more positively than they do now ( 6 ). The recent research also highlights that the youth remain an important component of the agricultural labor force ( 7 , 8 ) in the aspiration to upgrade agricultural practices and utilize new technologies for greater agricultural growth. Youth involvement drives labor diversification trends from predominantly rural agricultural activities to more urban focused manufacturing and service sector activities.…”