A recent study has shown that many rural young people are still interested in agriculture as a present livelihood option and imagined future. This opposes the general belief that young people in rural areas have turned their backs on agriculture. The research acknowledges that rural young people actively combine work in agriculture with other non-farm self- or wage employment and domestic work.
The male youth are majorly involved in farming, while females feature more in supportive value chain roles. However, while young people will continue to be involved in agriculture as many have a passion for it, and because there are few other options, there is uncertainty about the scope—within the limited opportunities—for obtaining decent livelihoods from agriculture.
These livelihoods are being built under severe and persistent constraints due to infrastructural deprivation, taxation/levies of agricultural produce, limited access to productive resources, and the seasonal nature of economic activities. This has created instability, diverse risks, limited financial reward, and a lack of protection. Despite these challenges, access to land within the study sites remains the assuring asset, partly stable for rural youth engagement in agriculture, while other opportunities like training on how to access soft loans from the government do not reach the intended youth. With hard work and support from their families and social networks, male and female youth set about to build their livelihoods with the hope that the gains from it will not only meet their immediate needs but will be enough to make an impact in their communities.
The overall qualitative research was led by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), UK with funding from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). It was conducted in four African countries, including Nigeria. In Nigeria, the research was carried out in Osun and Anambra States. While IITA focused research on two sites—Oba-Oke and Idi-Amu communities—in Osun State, the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) focused on Umumbo and Igbariam communities in Anambra State.
From IITA, Olamide Olaosebikan and Béla Teeken, Gender Specialists and Bello Abolore, Senior Research Supervisor, were part of the research team. For NRCRI, Tessy Madu, Social and Gender Researcher at NRCRI and Benjamin Okoye, Socioeconomist, were part of the research team. The analysis of 416 interviews using life histories, photo voices, and eight focus group discussions with young people between 15 and 29 years gave the findings. The research featured in a film and research results were validated through a workshop with stakeholders that was part of the research.
Young researchers were part of the project research team. They undertook roles as enumerators, facilitators, and workshop coordinators. The research became an active process of developing young people’s capacity to participate, validate, lead, and think about appropriate policies. The research also heightened awareness and provided an opportunity for rural youth to articulate their views through the research validation workshop and make important inputs to an informed and evidence-based policy brief published based on the research.
The study’s results and recommendations highlighted in the policy brief were that access to resources such as infrastructure, inputs, and training is crucial for addressing identified challenges. Beyond meeting basic needs that are mostly not youth-specific, interventions must be linked to the potential to raise productivity and income in both agricultural and non-farm livelihoods. Also, youth identified non-farm income as essential to raise funds for investment in agricultural practices that are more mechanized, making them more profitable with less drudgery involved.
The recommended policy would promote the creation of accessible education with special attention for the disadvantaged position of girls related to their culturally assumed role of caretakers. This role especially becomes even more restrictive when they reach the age when society believes they should marry and have children. The policy would inform the provision of sustainable infrastructural facilities and basic amenities and strong linkages to all economic sectors. The policy would also involve reducing or canceling levies concerning the movement of agricultural produce. Although many of these recommendations are not necessarily youth-specific, they concern the rural population.
“Aligning policies and interventions with existing initiatives and opportunities within the rural space and with youth’s active and entrepreneurial spirit can complement efforts on rural youth development and rural transformation in Nigeria generally,” said Teeken. “It will also largely contribute to reverse outmigration from rural areas to cities,” Olaosebikan added.
“Special thanks to Dr Victor Manyong for initiating the collaboration between IDS and IITA on this research,” Teeken added.
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