Youth participation in agriculture, accounting for entrepreneurial dimensions

Abstract

Background: Despite the high youth unemployment levels, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, participation in the agricultural sector remains low. The agricultural sector provides valuable opportunities of employment, which could contribute towards relieving the high levels of unemployment and enhancing livelihoods of families in rural areas. Youth are also seen as the future of the agricultural sector and food production.Aim: To determine whether entrepreneurial dimensions, along with assets within the sustainable livelihoods framework, influences participation of youth in the agricultural sector.Setting: Focus is on youth and the influence of endogenous and exogenous factors on their participation in the agricultural sector.Methods: Entrepreneurial dimensions of 440 youth participants were derived from statements related to entrepreneurial skills and competencies by means of principal component analysis and combined with factors from the sustainable livelihood framework in a multinomial logistic regression.Results: It was found that the youth are heterogeneous in their endogenous and exogenous resources. Youth involved in the sector are more likely to have access to land and extension services, experience in the sector and support initiatives. In terms of entrepreneurial dimensions, youth involved are more inclined to believe in themselves and are more likely to take advantage of opportunities (pull entrepreneurship). The results show that policies and programmes should consider both endogenous and exogenous factors and combinations thereof to attract and enhance youth participation in the agricultural sector.Conclusion: Policy and programme development should consider the heterogeneity of youth in terms of their access to resources and entrepreneurial dimensions to enhance their participation in the agricultural sector. Participation in agriculture requires more than only access to land, and other individual physical resources attention should also be given to endogenous factors of individuals and combinations of different resources.

Facing post-crisis livelihood challenges? Insights from young farmers in Kenema city, Eastern Province, Sierra Leone

“…Yatma Guèye, of the Senegalese Ministry of Urban Renewal, Habitat and Living Condition argued that African cities are not just "centres of economic growth loaded with young people serving both as key players and mechanics in the development process", but concludes that managing this development involves prudent planning strategies. For example, Henning et al (2022) found in a study in South Africa that, although young people are heterogenous in their access to resources and capacities, those engaged in agricultural entrepreneurship actually believed in themselves and were more likely to take advantage of livelihood opportunities. This heterogeneity is strongly expressed by respondents in a Ugandan study of 'youth agripreneurs', experiencing the tension between representing a demographic category populated by a heterogenous group whose opportunities and challenges may not be defined as much by age as by other socioeconomic characteristics.…”