Perceptions of Makerere University agriculture students towards farming as a means of livelihood.

Abstract

Youth population in Uganda is estimated at 6.5 million, representing 21.3% of the total population of the country. The Youth Employment Report reveals that 70% of the employed youth in rural areas are engaged in agriculture. Despite being the majority, youth still face varying problems including inability to own or access land, lack of affordable financing for agribusiness start-ups as well as the technical know-how to be effectively employed in the sector. The Ugandan government aims to encourage agricultural participation amongst the youth through various support programs and policy initiatives with specific focus on the youth which include Operation Wealth Creation, Sustainable Land Use Management, Agricultural Sector Strategic Plan, Youth Livelihood Program and Venture Capital Fund. Despite all these initiatives to boost youth participation in agriculture, their enrollment in agriculture still remains low. This study examined the perceptions of agriculture students of Makerere University towards farming as a means of livelihood. The specific objectives were; (1) To investigate livelihood preferences of Makerere University agriculture students in other areas of agriculture, (2) To determine the perceived role of education and training amongst Makerere University agriculture students in shaping their perceptions towards farming as a viable livelihood option, and (3) To investigate agriculture students’ perceived challenges towards farming as a means of livelihood. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents for the study. Quantitative data was collected with the aid of a structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was collected through key informant interviews. The findings showed that 88.2% of the respondents were between the ages of 21-25 years. 78.3% of the respondents hold a perception that farming offers opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship. Livelihood preferences of respondents in other areas of agriculture other than farming showed that the majority preferred to undertake agricultural marketing (48.8%). The major perceived challenges of respondents towards farming as a means of livelihood included land tenure system (56.7%), market issues i.e. price fluctuations, monopoly within the market (57.8%), and limited capital (54.3%). It is recommended that the government of Uganda through MAAIF creates youth-in-farming policies and integrates them with other policies on youth matters such as education and investment as this will empower the youths and change their perception towards farming thus igniting their interest in agricultural activities.