Involvement of youths in soilless agriculture in Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The need to make agriculture attractive especially for the youth population is key to achieving food security and eradicating hunger in the nation. This is possible when appropriate technologies are introduced and made available to farmers of all ages, which necessitated this study. This study examined the involvement of youths in soilless agriculture in Ogun State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select 122 youths for the study and data were collected with the use of questionnaire. Results were analysed using percentages, mean and Chi-square. The result shows that 60.7% were male and 45.9% of the respondents had tertiary education. More than half (55.7%) of the respondents had unfavourable perception about soilless agriculture. Insufficient information (x?=1.11), inadequate finance (x?=0.91) and lack of interest (x?=0.75) were the major constraints experienced by respondents as regards soilless agriculture. Involvement in soilless agriculture was low (76.2%) among respondents. There was a significant relationship between the level of education (?²=8.826, p=0.032) and involvement in soilless agriculture. The study concluded that youths’ involvement in soilless agriculture was low and should be improved through publicity and trainings from extension agents and various research institutes.