5 REASONS YOUTHS ARE NOT ATTRACTED TO THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR

It is January 1^st, 1983, everyone is happy because it is the new year. Neighbors, families, and friends hugging it out. New year resolutions are being written. The year was going to be special for them but not for the reasons they think. January 1^st, 1983 is probably the most memorable new year because it marked the birth of the world’s 8th wonder; the internet. The internet should be among the wonders of the world because of its effect on the world. It is an innovation that has lived for 4 decades and will continue to live because its capabilities have no limit. The internet altered the world and the way we live. Messages are sent in seconds, information is accessible at our fingertips, connecting to old friends is not as difficult as it used to be, sales are done quickly, the way consumers buy changes rapidly, and many other things. Go to the train station or a class and look at how everyone stares at their phone. It is like we now live in two worlds; the physical world and the internet world. This all shows that the agriculture sector can’t do things the same way because the way people see things are different. The things that were appreciated in the 90s might not be appreciated any longer today. A sector that does not improve at a rapid scale is setting itself up for failure because the younger generation will not see it as interesting. Now you can be one of those, who scream at the younger generation saying, ‘You all are spoilt and lazy’ or you can find a way to engage the younger generation. The choice is yours but if I were you, I would choose the latter because the former has never solved anything. The agriculture sector is the oldest and the most important when it comes to human survival, yet it finds it difficult to attract youth. There are various reasons why youth are not attracted to agriculture but we would take the five major reasons.

5 REASONS YOUTHS ARE NOT ATTRACTED TO THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR

1. Agriculture as intense labor:

If you were to ask some youth to draw a picture of someone in the agriculture sector. I would likely get a picture of a man or woman with a hoe or cutlass on the farmland. The picture reflects huge labor, and one thing is sure the youth nowadays prefer brain-intensive jobs, not muscle-intensive ones. But is this true? The agriculture sector has evolved and there are many ways that youth can get involved in the agriculture sector without doing manual labor. The agriculture sector presents a lot of opportunities like marketing, vlogging, blogging, public relation and so much more in the agriculture sector.

2. Ignorance of value:

There is a perception that the agriculture sector has a low return on value if studied. I remember a scene that happened when I was in school. My friend called his cousin to find out about his application to the university. His cousin had applied to study engineering but he was giving fishery. Let me give you a transcript of the conversation. Uche: how is your admission going? Cousin: well, I have gotten admission but…. Uche: there’s no but, the main thing is that you have gotten admission into the university. Cousin: It is not that I am not appreciative but what they gave me is fishery, not engineering Uche: Guy!!! You better try and change that thing, if not your future isn’t going to be bright at all. Cousin: Yeah, I know. When Uche told me about this, I was shocked by his response to his cousin and more shocked that his cousin would agree. If only Uche and his cousin knew that people have become millionaires and billionaires in fishery.

3. Lack of role model

if I were to ask you who is the role model for the technology sector, you probably have a lot of names like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, and so on but what of the known role models in the agriculture sector? Would you be able to name 5 role models in the agriculture sector that are well known from the top of your head? Probably not. The agriculture sector has role models who have been successful in their pursuit of the agriculture sector but they are not talked about often or the role models don’t even want to portray themselves like that.

4. A poor man’s job:

some youth think that the agriculture sector is a poor man’s job but that’s far from the truth. The agriculture sector is very lucrative and there is no limit to how much you can make. There are millionaires and billionaires in the agriculture sector.

5. Farming method:

Some countries, especially developing countries, practice agriculture in a labor-intensive and stale way. This manner of practicing farming doesn’t seem to attract the youth. They need to see that there are various ways to practice farming like precision farming.

Solutions

How can we change these narratives? As you would notice the problem here is the wrong perception of agriculture by the youth or even worldwide. If you want to change people’s perception of things, two sectors can change people’s perceptions rapidly and effectively. These sectors are the education and media sectors.

1. The Educational System Role:

The educational sector has to change how courses related to agriculture are taught. The educational sector should talk about the latest happenings and technology like precision agriculture IoT, agriculture blockchain, satellite imagery, and, so much more.

2. The Media System Role

the media sector is an amplifier. The agriculture sectors need influencers who are passionate about the agriculture sector and also utilize social media to tell the happenings of the agriculture sector. Luckily, some agriculture influencers like Sharon Idahosa are spreading the news about agriculture through different means like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and so much more. Let’s Talk Agriculture is happy to play part in this through our podcast blogs and our various social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Conclusion The agriculture sector needs the creativity of the youth. The agriculture sector is a sector that needs to be exploited by the younger generation because its potential is unlimited. If you like this blog, you would like to listen to Kenneth Obayuwana and Azeez Salawu talk about the future of agriculture and how to make agriculture attractive to young people respectively on our podcast show. Here is the podcast of Kenneth Obayuwana; an ambassador of Next Generation Agricultural Impact Network (NGIN) and volunteer on the World Food forum, on our podcast show giving his insights about this issue. Do you think there are other ways we can make agriculture more attractive to the youth? You can comment down below.