Youth and Agricultural Research For Development (AR4D)

Abstract

Based on their every day realities and realizations, youth interviewed in the “Youth and Agriculture in the Drylands – Realities, Viewpoints, Aspirations and Challenges of Rural Youth” study seems to have a sense of what they want. They envision a poverty-free village where they stay close to their families and having a farm they could call their own. They want to be independent, to be educated and to be in a position to provide for their own family. And they have a good sense of what they need to make agriculture contribute to this vision.

Fifty percent of young people in the surveyed area would prefer to stay in their villages if the conditions were better, and some 30% see agriculture as their source of income. Male respondents perceive agriculture as a profession in which they see themselves being well experienced, while female youth in particular value the peacefulness of rural life.