Determinants of Youth’s Involvement in Arable Crop Farming in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

Involving young people in arable crop farming has the ability to generate jobs, alleviate poverty, curb hunger, lower crime rates, stop rural-urban migration, and open up prospects for start-ups in the supplier-processor-marketing sector among Nigeria's burgeoning youth population. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the determinants of youth’s involvement in arable crop farming in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria using 180 youths in appropriate standard techniques. Findings from the study indicated that the youths were 27 years on average. About 59% of the youths were males and 80% of them married. About 44% of the youths had secondary education and a mean farming experience of 7 years. About 74% of the youths were involved in arable crop farming. The major arable crops the youths were engaged in farming included; rice (32%), yams (26%) and cassava (17%). Age, educational status, marital status and parents’ occupation were significant factors that influenced youths’ involvement in arable crop farming in the study area. The major constraints to youths’ involvement in arable crop farming included inadequate credit facilities (43.3%), lack of effective agricultural insurance policy (39.4%), insufficient initial capital (36%) among others. The study recommended an urgent need to stimulate the interest of the youths in agriculture early in life through career guidance. Grants should be provided to agriculture graduates who want to embark on commercial agriculture shortly after graduation.