Abstract
A refocus on agriculture is considered a pertinent resort for the youths because it is generally believed to be a panacea for sustainable development in any nation. To help generate suitable policies to encourage youth farmers to be involved in agricultural activities, the study analysed factors that influence youth farmers’ participation in agricultural activities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
 
 Through a list of farmers obtained with the assistance of Akwa Ibom State Agricultural Development Programme, 120 youth farmers were randomly selected for the study using simple random sampling technique. The study used descriptive and inferential tools to analyse information collected. The majority (59.2%) of youth farmers were male and 42.5% were between the ages of 36-39 years. Only 8.3% had access to credit. About 71% of the youth farmers were involved in on-farm activities and only 29.2% in both on- and off-farm activities. The major determinants of youth agricultural activities were household size and membership of social organizations. The state government and other relevant agencies and organizations should create platforms to educate youth farmers on the need for more involvement and diversification in their agricultural livelihood strategies.
Highlights
The population of youths in the world is about 1.2 billion and it is projected to increase to 1.3 billion by 2030 (United Nations, 2019)
Akwa Ibom State is located in the South-South Geo-political Zone of Nigeria lying between latitudes 4°32′N and 5°33′N, and longitudes 7°25′E and 8°25′E.The state is bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers and Abia States, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost tip of Cross River State
Majority of the youth farmers in Akwa-Ibom State were engaged in only on-farm livelihood activities of various types including crop farming, livestock rearing, fish farming and palm fruit harvesting
Summary
The population of youths in the world is about 1.2 billion and it is projected to increase to 1.3 billion by 2030 (United Nations, 2019). Youths make up to one-fifth of the population in many countries of the world (ILO, 2017). Nigeria’s population is estimated at 205,856,089 people in 2020 (United Nations, 2019), and about half of its population is made up of youths between 14 and 34 years of age (National Bureau of Statistics, 2017). As the youth population grows, so does the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate of adults in developing countries is less when compared to that of youth (ILO, 2020). David and Eugene (2015) observed that the highest unemployed population in Africa is the youth. In sub Saharan Africa the rate of youth unemployment is a major problem yet to be overcome (World Bank, 2020)
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