Determinants of Youth’s Participation in Agricultural Enterprises in Rural Communities of Ogun State, Nigeria
Abstract
Agriculture is a source of livelihoods for most rural people, but majority of the rural populace face many hurdles such as lack of access to credit and other resources necessary to earn a livelihood. However, despite the opportunities available in agriculture, unemployment rate and rural-urban migration is still high and on the increase. This study was designed to identify the determinants of youth participation in agricultural enterprises in Ogun State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 125 farmers (youths) for the study. A well-structured questionnaire was used in collecting the data and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results show that many (30.4%) were between 30-34 years of age, majority (59.2%) of the respondent recorded household size 1-3 persons. Majority (52.0%) of the respondents are into farming as their primary occupation, 83.2% strongly agree that agricultural enterprise reduced dependency on government and the community, 83.2% noted subsidy on fertilizer is not available, 96.8% indicated highly benefited on increase in self-worth, 79.2% encountered poor returns to investment as the severe constraint, 96.0% were fully involved in cassava production, while 95.2% participated in maize production. These youths are confronted with different challenges constraining their participation in agricultural enterprises. Hence, access to credit facilities, increase in farm size will enable youths to participate in the available enterprises, thereby, increasing youth participation in agricultural enterprises and assist them to attain the efficient point on the production frontier.
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