Attracting Youth to Agriculture: The Career Interests of Young Farmers Club Members in Uganda

Mukembo, Stephen C.; Edwards, Michael C.; Ramsey, Jon W.; Henneberry, Shida Rastegari

doi:10.5032/jae.2014.05155

Cited by 21 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Owing to their moderate knowledge of agriculture, the students were negatively disposed to choosing agriculture as a course of study in higher institutions. However, they would be willing to choose agriculture as a career if they were adequately guided and counselled in career choices in agriculture; properly informed about the prospects of agriculture; and if agriculture were made real through practical sessions and can go on agricultural excursions, Experiences acquired during the formative period of an individual's life may set the future direction of a person's life course by influencing the choice of career and the achievements attained (Mukembo et al, 2014). Therefore, taking up agriculture at high school level can have some influence on the students' future career choice (Esters and Bowen, 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socio-economic characteristics of the students. With respect to the questionnaire's ordinal scales, only frequencies and percentages were calculated, i.e., no summation of mean scores or other tests of central tendency were done (Mukembo et al, 2014). A five (5)-point Likert scale (Likert, 1977) (Johanson and Matilla, 1994) assess their perception of agriculture.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Choosing a career path in agriculture: A tough calling for youths in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria

Obayelu

Fadele

2019

Agricultura Tropica Et Subtropica

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The decline in youth population and the upsurge in ageing farmer population have resulted in low agricultural output and per capital productivity in rural Nigeria, which is a threat to the national food security. High school students’ perception of agriculture and factors influencing their willingness to study agriculture in tertiary institutions were therefore investigated in this study. Information from 285 science students in high schools was analysed using descriptive statistics, Likert scale and logistic regression. Age of the students was 15.30 ± 1.17 years with almost equal distribution of both sexes. About half (50.5 %) of them wanted to study medicine where as only 4.6 % of the respondents were willing to study agriculture in the university. A higher percentage of female students (57.6 %) were willing to study agriculture in tertiary institution than their male counterparts (42.4 %). A higher percentage of students from public schools (51.4 %) were willing to study agriculture whereas 48.6 % of those from private schools were willing to do so. The students were undecided about the contribution of agriculture to national development but strongly disagreed that agriculture gives less income than other professions. Major motivating factors that can stimulate the respondents’ willingness to study agriculture were career awareness program in agriculture, practical knowledge of agriculture and agricultural excursion. The likelihood of a high school student’s willingness to study agriculture increased significantly with having a father who primarily practised agriculture and supports agricultural education, attending a school where crude implements are not used, visit to a mechanized farm and the youth’s willingness to own a farm in the future irrespective of the course of study, while attending a private school will decrease it. In conclusion, high school students had average perception of agriculture and were not willing to study agriculture in tertiary institutions. Suggestions are presented on how to change this negative attitude towards this vital branch of science.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Choosing a career path in agriculture: A tough calling for youths in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria

Obayelu

Fadele

2019

Agricultura Tropica Et Subtropica

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“…Further, Ajzen (1991) posited "perceived behavioral control, together with behavioral intention can be used to predict behavioral achievement" (p. 184). Moreover, individuals and society as a whole can build their human capital by investing in educationformal and informal which, in turn, brings about returns to individuals, communities, and nations (Hornbeck & Salamon, 1991;Mukembo, Edwards, Ramsey, & Henneberry, 2014;Nafukho, Hairston, & Brooks, 2004;Schultz, 1972Schultz, , 1981.…”

Section: Theoretical Lensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The participants' sentiments are supported by various occupational-minded groups, such as the International Labor Organization (2014), and by other researchers. For example, Montpellier (2014), Mukembo et al (2014, and urged the promotion of agripreneurship in schools through projects as a way to motivate young people to pursue careers in agriculture, including agribusiness opportunities.…”

Section: Facilitating Student-owned Saps and Related Recognition Oppomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…She said: "You reach out to the young children like high school, the ones in senior one and senior two, you tell them about agriculture, the opportunities agriculture has, what agriculture is all about." Such an approach may be helpful in creating favorable attitudes toward agriculture at an early age (Mukembo et al, 2014. The idea of having female role models to inspire young women to pursue agricultural careers was also emphasized by the World Bank's (2009) report Gender in Agriculture.…”

Section: Facilitating Student-owned Saps and Related Recognition Oppomentioning

confidence: 99%

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Increasing Female Enrollment for Agricultural Programs of Study in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Motivates Women to Pursue Careers in Agriculture?

Mukembo

Uscanga

Edwards

et al. 2017

JIAEE

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Women in developing countries, especially in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA), play a critical role in ensuring food security and sovereignty for their families and nations. Unfortunately, in spite of this, their significance in the agricultural sector is seldom fully appreciated. Further, very few women in SSA are professionally trained agriculturists (Beintema & Di Marcantonio, 2009; Kanté, Edwards, & Blackwell, 2013), which has likely contributed to their low productivity per hectare in the agricultural sector compared to their male counterparts (O'Sullivan, Rao, Banerjee, Gulati, & Vinez, 2014). This study investigated the experiences of young, aspiring female agriculturists from Uganda who were members of Young Farmers’ Clubs (YFC) at high school to understand better how their club experiences may have impacted their career choices. Findings indicate the participants’ YFC activities, especially supervised agripreneurship projects (SAPs) and field trips, had transformative impacts on their choosing to study agriculture. However, gender stereotypes associated with females pursuing agricultural careers were still prevalent and discouraged them from becoming professional agriculturists. More research should be conducted about the impact of subjective norms (Ajzen, 1991) on females preparing to pursue careers in agriculture.

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Entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial farming among youth agripreneurs in Uganda

et al. 2023

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Attracting Youth to Agriculture: The Career Interests of Young Farmers Club Members in Uganda

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 21 publications

References 29 publications

Choosing a career path in agriculture: A tough calling for youths in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria

Choosing a career path in agriculture: A tough calling for youths in Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria

Increasing Female Enrollment for Agricultural Programs of Study in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Motivates Women to Pursue Careers in Agriculture?

Entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurial farming among youth agripreneurs in Uganda

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