FACTORS INFLUENCING YOUTH DETACHEMENT IN AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES IN TANZANIA:

Abstract

The study sought to examine factors influencing youth disengagement in agricultural activities in Tanzania using Uyui District in the Tabora region as a case study. The study was guided by three objectives namely; to identify socio-economic characteristics of youth involved in agricultural activities; to analyze approaches used to promote agriculture among youth in the study area as well as to identify socio-economic factors influencing youth disengagement in agricultural activities. In this study, the cross-sectional research design was used. In the sampling procedure, this study applied Students from primary, secondary, and colleges were obtained from respective school and college offices. The list of key informants was obtained from the district planning office and the agricultural offices at the district and village levels. Data were collected from both primary and secondary data sources. The primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews focused on Group Discussion (FGD), and observation. While secondary data for this study was obtained from different literature related to youth and agriculture development from the internet, libraries, and respective offices at municipal and Ward levels. The findings from this study showed that, most of the youths involved in agriculture in the study area are female, separated with a low level of education and little training in agriculture, and insecure land ownership. Moreover, the findings show that rural youths who are involved in agriculture are involved in different types of agricultural activities including maize, beans, sunflower, ground nuts, and vegetable cultivations. Furthermore, the perception toward agriculture can vary among youths depending on job preferences, that is youth that is not engaged in agriculture have negative perceptions of agriculture. The options to attract youth to agricultural activities are secure ownership of land, availability of markets, provision of credit facilities, ensuring the provision of training, and improvement of extension services.