Agricultural Entrepreneurship Development for Youth Empowerment in Nigeria: Constraints and Initiatives for Improvement

Abstract

The survival of Nigeria’s agriculture rests squarely on the youth who are the farmers and leaders of
tomorrow. Hitherto, the teaching and learning of agriculture has proceeded in such a manner that
graduates of such programmes have failed to make successful launch into the world of agricultural
enterprises (entrepreneurship). Major constraints that predisposed this anomalous situation were identified
to include poor policy framework, socio-economic pressures, undue parental and peer influences, improper
value orientation and of course, the nature of curricula. In response to the situation, some programmes
and/or initiatives aimed at inculcating entrepreneurial skills were proposed by this study with identified
target beneficiaries. The initiatives bordered on curricular reorientation that integrate
entrepreneurship/enterprise education, retraining of graduates, financial support system among others.