Dolapo Adeyanju

Food insecurity remains a serious challenge for many households in Africa and the situation is even more prevalent among young people. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence on youth food security status in Africa. We assessed the level and determinants of food security among young farmers in Africa. We adopted a multi-stage sampling technique to select 400, 429, and 606 young farmers in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda, respectively. Individual food consumption was assessed following a 7 days recall method. The Food Consumption Score, which combines dietary diversity and consumption frequency was used to assess food security status while the determinants of food security were identified using a logistic regression model. Results suggest low dietary diversity across the three countries. Also, the majority of the respondents had an unacceptable food consumption score, suggesting that despite being food producers, young farmers are still food insecure. The odds of being food secure was positively determined by access to extension services, participation in the ENABLE TAAT business incubation programme, and access to market information but, negatively by access to credit, number of employees, Covid-19 pandemic, and location. Additionally, the food security status of young female farmers was positively influenced by age, suggesting that younger youths are less food secure compared to older ones. These results suggest that more efforts should be directed towards improving the food security of young African farmers and that policy- and programme-level interventions should support access to extension services, market information, and land. Additionally, more investments should be directed towards developing need-based agribusiness incubation programmes with an effort to scale existing programmes beyond the regular one-time period.

This paper investigated the determinant of youth participation in agricultural training programs using the case of Fadama program. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 977 respondents comprising of 455 participants and 522 non-participants. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study showed that high asset index reduces youths’ likelihood of participation. Also, participation in the program was negatively but significantly influenced by gender and household size but positively by age, years of education, perception of agribusiness, agribusiness ownership and youth’s intentions to start farming. The result of the descriptive showed that majority of the respondents (56%) indicated lack of access to finance as their major barrier to participating in agribusiness and in agribusiness training. Other barriers include lack of mentorship and information. The study therefore recommends the need for strategies to facilitate youth access to credit, mentorship and timely information.

Using the case of the Fadama Graduate Unemployed Youth and Women Support (GUYS) programme, this study investigated the impact of agricultural training programmes on youth agripreneurship performance in Nigeria. A total of 977 respondents comprising of 455 participants of the programme and 522 non-participants were sampled across three states in Nigeria. Data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire programmed on Open Data Kit (ODK). Data were analysed using the Endogenous Treatment Effect Regression (ETER) model. The probit model results revealed that participation in the programme was significantly influenced by age, years of formal education, marital status, current residence, employment type, and perception of training. The empirical analysis showed that after controlling for endogeneity, participation in the programme led to better performance which was measure in terms of average income from agripreneurship activities. These findings highlight the significance of training in improving the performance of young agripreneurs and suggest the need to encourage and out-scale programmes such as the Fadama GUYS, both in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa as they can contribute to better performance of youth-owned agribusiness firms.

Using the case of Fadama Graduate Unemployed Youth and Women Support (FGUYS) program, this study assessed the impact of agricultural programs on youth engagement in agribusiness in Nigeria. A total of 977 respondents comprising of 455 participants of the program and 522 non-participants were sampled across three states in Nigeria. Data were analysed using Descriptive and Endogenous Switching Probit Regression (ESPR) Model. The result showed that participation in the program was influenced by age, years of formal education, perception of agricultural programs and type of employment. Furthermore, the results showed a positive impact of the program on youths’ likelihood to engage in agribusiness. The study recommends the need to invest more in agricultural programs such as the case study since it has desirable economic outcome for young people. Also, there is a need to improve the general outlook of agriculture such that it becomes more attractive to young people.