In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), agriculture continues to play a
fundamental role in the economic portfolio of rural households. However, rapid
urban growth—particularly in Africa—is increasingly fueled by two key factors:
internal migration from rural to urban areas, and immigration from other
countries and regions. Generally, youths in rural Africa have little aspiration
for careers in the agricultural sector and instead migrate to urban areas to
seek employment and better living conditions. In Cameroon, the majority of
migrants are youths aged 18 to 35, who often face significant challenges
related to unemployment and underemployment upon arriving in urban areas. The
government is turning to agriculture as a source of employment for youth;
however, there is scant literature on the determinants of the attraction of
youths, especially college students, to the sector. This exploratory study
sought to identify these determinants and to investigate strategies for making
agriculture appealing to students for future career development. A
cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2023 across selected
secondary and high schools. In both secondary and high schools, a
semi-structured questionnaire comprising twelve open-ended and three
closed-ended questions was first piloted. Based on the pilot, an average of
eight students per institution were selected for individual interviews, and
eight others participated in focus group discussions. Secondary and high school
teachers, selected using the convenience sampling approach, were engaged in
focus group discussions. Thematic analysis was conducted using NVivo software.
The overarching factors attracting college students to agriculture in the study
area include the availability of arable land and easy access to it, access to
start-up financing, the introduction of adapted mechanization and relevant
information and communication technologies, increased productivity leading to
higher returns on investment in agriculture, education and training, and
positive messaging about agriculture targeting youth. The study recommends
profound land tenure reforms, the provision of adapted financial services, the
establishment of farm mechanization pools, the inclusion of agriculture in
college curricula, and positive communication strategies to rebrand
agriculture. Further research should be carried out in other regions of the
country to confirm the findings of this study or to identify other contributory
factors of youth attraction to agriculture, which may be specific to the different
agro-ecological zones of the country.
Author(s)
Details
Aseh
Emmanuel Vitung
Department of Business Studies, Graduate School, ICT University,
Yaounde, Cameroon.
Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/asti/v3/5827
