Tropentag, September 18 - 20, 2019 in Kassel "Filling gaps and removing traps for sustainable resources development"

Factors Influencing Youths' Participation in Agricultural Training Programs in Nigeria: The Case of Fadama GUYS Program

¹University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics, Kenya
²International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Project Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning, Benin

Abstract

Many scholars have come to believe that Africa may truly be in dilemma. It is not known whether youth bulge is a time-ticking bomb waiting to explode or a blessing in disguise. This study was necessitated by the high rate of youth unemployment and low youth engagement in Agribusiness in Nigeria despite the numerous interventions by both government and private organizations to promote youth entrepreneurship particularly, agripreneurship. The paper investigated the factors influencing youth participation in agricultural training programs using the case of Fadama GUYS program. The program was introduced in 2017 across 23 states in Nigeria. Given the fact that most of the studies that have investigated similar topic using a case study were based on relatively small data sets and focused on a single state in the country, this study progressed to take cases from three different states, representing three of the regions covered in the program. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 977 respondents comprising of 455 participants and 522 non-participants across the regions. Thus, providing a basis for policy recommendation on a broader scope. Data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis. The analysis showed that high asset index score reduces youths' likelihood of participation in the program. Also, participation was negatively but significantly influenced by gender and household size but positively by age, years of formal education, employment status, farm ownership and youth intention to start a farm. The study also analysed youths' willingness to engage in agribusiness, the result showed that more than 70 percent were willing to engage in agribusiness. Based on this, the study went further to identify factors impeding youths from engaging in agribusiness. The result showed that majority of the respondents (56 percent) indicated lack of access to finance as their major barrier to participating in agribusiness and hence do not see the need to participate in agribusiness training. Other barriers include lack of mentorship and information. Thus, the study concluded by recommending relevant interventions to tackle and overcome these challenges.

Keywords: Agribusiness, agripreneurship, training, unemployement, youth

Contact Address: Dolapo Adeyanju, University of Nairobi, Department of Agricultural Economics, Kangemi, 29053-00625 Nairobi, Kenya, e-mail: dolapo.adeyanjustudents.uonbi.ac.ke