Rural Youth Participation in Agriculture-Based livelihood Activities in Abuja, Nigeria

The study examined the factors affecting rural youth participation in agriculture-based livelihood activities in Bwari Area Council Abuja, Nigeria. The study was conducted in Ushafa, Peyi, Jigo and Pambara in Bwari. four objectives guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive research design. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select the communities in which youth are predominant for the study. Focus groups, in-depth interviews, and a structured interview schedule were used to gather primary data. Data were analyzed using frequency and percentages. The sample size of the study was 100 rural youth made up of 25 youths from each of the communities which were purposively selected. The result pointed out that this high low level of participation was due to a lack of finance (90%), a lack of inputs (88%), a lack of production and management skills (60%), environmental issues (74%), market access (58%), and market unavailability (57%) which are the major challenges that the youth face when opting for a profession in agriculturee. However, The study discovered that the majority of youth aspired to non-agricultural occupations such as skilled jobs and business rather than agricultural occupations despite having a mixed perception towards it. Hence, it is recommended that, adequate support and capital investment should be made available and Youth extension should be included in each state’s agricultural extension intervention programs to encourage active youth participation in agricultural production and food security efforts etc. Finally all stakeholders must make efforts to create favourable environment for increasing youth participation in agriculture-based livelihood activities through the Ministry of Agriculture, should consider a strategies to encourage, educate, as well as help the youth who want to work and have interest in agriculture.