he youth unemployment situation is an essential component of the current agricultural policy agenda of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Deep-rooted debates on finding a lasting solution to this problem using agriculture have been targeted as one of the panaceas. Using data from 207 systematically selected rice-producing households, this study employed the Propensity Score Matching method (PSM) and the Inverse Probability Weighted Regression Adjustment method (IPWRA) to examine the effect of intensive youth participation in agriculture on productivity and household revenue in Nigeria. We found that the key factors influencing the decisions of youth to participate in agriculture intensively include the number of years of farming experience, access to credit, membership in social groups, income, and land access. The PSM results indicate that rice productivity could increase by 1088.78 kg/ha if youth decide to intensively participate in agriculture. The IPWRA results show a positive and significant impact of intensive youth participation in agriculture on productivity and revenue. Therefore, our results suggest that efforts by the government and stakeholders towards encouraging flexible accessibility to credit (low-interest and easy repayment) and land without collateral to young people could enhance their participation in intensive agriculture and could subsequently boost productivity and household revenue.

https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12050584

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Djana Babatima Mignounahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4074-2928

Zoumana BAMBAhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8913-3357

Tahirou Abdoulayehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8072-1363

https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12050584

Social Science and Agribusiness

Agronomy; Food Security; Grain Legumes; Plant Breeding; Plant Production

Youth Employment; Occupation; Households; Rice; Farming; Nigeria

Africa; West Africa

Nigeria

Central Africa Hub; Headquarters and Western Africa Hub

Agriculture