Intentions of Young Farmers Club (YFC) Members to Pursue Career Preparation in Agriculture: The Case of Uganda

Abstract

The decline of youth engagement in agriculture worldwide amidst an increasing global population remains a big challenge to ensuring food security for future generations. This phenomenon is worsened by the shortage of professional female agriculturists, though they comprise about 60% to 80% of the traditional workforce in the agriculture sector of most developing countries (Beintema & Di Marcantonio, 2009). This descriptive study had 102 participants who were members of Young Farmers Clubs (YFCs) from two secondary schools in eastern Uganda. The study’s purpose was to determine the perceptions of members of YFCs on their intent to pursue agriculture-related career preparation after graduating from secondary school, including indications of familial support for preparatory experiences. The findings indicate that a large majority (95.1%) of the students was likely or highly likely to continue with their education at the post-secondary level. A high percentage (70.6%) was likely or highly likely to pursue agriculture-related career preparation; however, significant differences existed between the sexes. Female club members were less certain than their male peers about pursuing higher education involving the study of agriculture. Additional research should be conducted on how to attract more females to study agriculture at the tertiary level, especially in developing countries.

Penguatan Sistem Pendidikan Sdm Dalam Pembangunan Pertanian: Agribisnis Di Mata Pemuda

“…Namun, kenyataannya adalah sangat kecil dari mereka yang tertarik berkarir di sektor pertanian (Mukembo et.al., 2014). Antitesis ini jika dirunut berdasarkan penelitian Kruijssen (2009) dalam Mukembo et. al.…”

International Agricultural Education from 1975 to Present: A Research Synthesis

“…While those are promising results, parents play a significant role in determining career paths (Anamuah-Mensah, Asabere-Ameyaw, & Dennis, 2007). This can be seen in a descriptive case study by Mukembo, Edwards, Ramsey, and Henneberry (2015) where the majority of 102 secondary students who participated in a Youth Farmers Club reported that their parents encouraged them to join the club and as a result of being in the club, the pupils considered agriculture for a career. Furthermore, the majority of the students reported they will continue their education in a post-secondary institution and will most likely pursue ag-related career preparation experiences (Mukembo et al, 2015).…”

“…This can be seen in a descriptive case study by Mukembo, Edwards, Ramsey, and Henneberry (2015) where the majority of 102 secondary students who participated in a Youth Farmers Club reported that their parents encouraged them to join the club and as a result of being in the club, the pupils considered agriculture for a career. Furthermore, the majority of the students reported they will continue their education in a post-secondary institution and will most likely pursue ag-related career preparation experiences (Mukembo et al, 2015). In addition to participation in extra-curricular activities, several other factors were found to determine the likelihood of secondary students to pursue agriculture as a career, including sex, post-secondary school location, and students' residential area (Ramdwar & Ganpat, 2010).…”

Exploring agricultural vocational pedagogy in Uganda: students’ experiences

“…The majority of these are neither in education, employment nor training (NEET) but have to find their way into subsistence agriculture, because not working at all is no option (Kibwika, Okiror, & Birungi-Kyazze, 2010). There is a significant number of young people who still look for careers in the agriculture and food industry (Mukembo, Edwards, Ramsey, & Henneberry, 2015;Okiror & Otabong, 2015).…”