Keywords
Agricultural livelihood,
Income generating activities
How to Cite
Abstract
This study examines female youth participation in agricultural livelihood generating activities in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja. The objectives of the study were to: examine the extent of female youth participation in agricultural livelihood generating activities and the income generated, determine factors influencing female youth participation in agricultural livelihood generating activities, and identify major constraints faced by female youth participating in agricultural livelihood generating activities. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 133 female youths from 13 registered youth associations with 10 from each group in (4) peri-urban communities of the study area. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data while descriptive statistics and Logit regression model were used to analyze the data. The results showed that 30.1% and 14.3% of the respondents were engaged in crop and poultry production and generated an average income of ₦420,093.02 and ₦216,000.00 respectively while 3.0% and 4.5 only were engaged in crop produce processing and poultry meat and egg marketing and generated ₦29,250.74 and ₦14,166.67, respectively. The logit regression results indicated that factors influencing female youth participation in agricultural livelihood generating activities include age, education status, household size, income, occupation, and distance. Also, the major constraints hindering participation were inadequate access to land (43.6%), inadequate access to finance (41.6%) and high cost of production (16%). While the study indicates that a significant portion of female youths is engaged in crop and poultry production, their overall participation in agricultural activities is limited. The study provides critical insights into the potential of agriculture as a viable solution to youth unemployment in Nigeria. The study recommends implementing policies to improve land access for female youths, including land reform initiatives that prioritize youth ownership and leasing options. Additionally, it suggests exploring strategies to reduce production costs through input subsidies, partnerships with agricultural suppliers, and community-based resource-sharing initiatives.
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