Challenges of Youth in Promoting Rural Farming Enterprises, a Case Study of Kwande Local Government Area, Benue State, Nigeria
- Country : Nigeria
- Subject : Agricultur
Keywords : Challenges, Rural, Youth, Inputs, Enterprises
Abstract
The survey was conducted in Kwande Local government Area of Benue State, Nigeria to ascertain the challenges of youth in promoting rural farming enterprises. Questionnaires were used to collect data from a sample of thirty (30) respondents. Descriptive statistics, mean score and standard deviation were used to analyze the data for the study. Results indicate that a greater percentage (75.00%) of the respondents were males, about 98.90% had formal education in school with majority (87.50%) belonging to non-formal organization, having a mean farming experience of about 11 years. Major challenges faced by rural youths in promoting farming enterprises were low prices of farm produce, irregular and untimely supply of farm inputs such as fertilizer, poor access to improved seeds, lack of access to sufficient land for farming, high cost of labour saving technologies, poor agricultural extension agent-farmer contact, lack of incentives from government to encourage youth to farm among others. The study recommends that rural youths should be encouraged to remain in agriculture through adequate and timely provision of farm inputs such as fertilizer, agro-chemicals, improved varieties of crops as well as labour saving technologies to promote farming enterprises and to boost productivity. It also highlights that adequate provision of agricultural extension services to the rural youths in farming remains paramount in order to have access to improved technologies that will enhance greater output thus increasing household income which improves standard of living.
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