July 2020 Vol. 8 No.7

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Udemezue JC

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Review

Challenges and opportunities of agricultural sector among youths in the twenty first century: The case of Nigeria

Udemezue J. C.

National Root Crops Research Institute, Umudike, PMB 7006 Umudike, Abia State, Nigeria

E-mail: udemezuej@gmail.com
GSM; +2348038971076
 
Received: 21 May 2020  I  Accepted: 18 June 2020  I  Published: 29 June 2020  I  Article ID: MRJASSS-20-028
Copyright © 2020 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article.
This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0.

Abstract

African continent is still faced with many challenges such as food insecurity, emerging effects of climate change and rampant land degradation. Therefore, Farmers across Africa need better access to finance, markets, and an enabling policy environment that af-fords them the social protections many of us across the world take for granted. Agriculture was the pillar sector of the Nigerian economy which accounted for more than 70% of the Cross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than 75% of Nigeria’s export earnings before Nigerians’ independence in 1960s. However, Agriculture accounted for 62.50% of the nation’s GDP from 1960-1964 and thereafter its contribution to GDP started decreasing from 1970 to 1975 as a result of oil boom in Nigeria. There has been a dramatic increase in the incidence and severity of poverty in Nigeria today, and this occasioned by the dwindling performance of the agricultural sector where the majority of Nigerians relied on national cake (oil boom) for their daily income. Youths are the essential resources for every nation, especially for sustaining agricultural productivity as an important sector for the development. Unfortunately, this category of people is virtually left out in policies and programmes considerations even though this is a critical stage for this group of people for transition into adulthood. Agriculture being one of the foundation pillars of any society can only function as such if this insufficient youth participation is reversed. Presently, the current situation of agriculture in Nigeria is despicable, deplorable, unspeakable, disgraceful, deceptive, tragic, retrogressive and not even befitting a nation that is rich and endowed with natural resources. As a matter of these, this paper used available literature to review the challenges and opportunities of agricultural sector among youths using Nigeria as a reference point. It also recommended that: The image of agriculture as dirty, non professional course as regarded by other professionals and laborious work with little returns must be changed. So that youths should be seeing agriculture as an inspirational career choice for African youths. There is the need for every well to do persons to support the youths in participating actively in agricultural production and to help them prevent those major factors that militate against their participation and Youths should be deeply involved in policy formulation.

Keywords: Challenges, opportunities, youths, agriculture