Globally, there is a heightened pressure on the resources of every nation leaving some section of the population unemployed or jobless due to the inability of the nation to provide employments or job opportunities for the total populace. The African continent and some other countries in other parts of the world have complained of the high rates of unemployment and have declared a spike of this current unemployment rate in the near future. This recent increasing rate of unemployment has made a lot of people venture into entrepreneurial businesses and some into areas where pressure of unemployment can be relieved. The truth of the matter is that most of the youths are not interested in venturing into sectors like the agricultural sector. The neglect for this sector has made nations and states not realized the full potentials embedded in the agriculture sector.
As youths, it is very important to accept and embrace agriculture because it is a source of income which can make an individual live a standardized and decent live and also promote the development and survival of the community. Currently, there are successful farmers and individuals in the agricultural sector who are ever ready to team up with any youth in order to impact them with their practical knowledge, expertise and technical know-how in the sector. This strategy can be termed as mentorship programmes where youths who are already into agriculture and are doing little, including potential farmers who are youths can be mentored by these successful farmers. These mentorship programmes will go a long way to foster growth and development since those who benefitted will also pass the knowledge gained to the other youths who are interested. Putting this measure in place will help rejuvenate and lessen the pressure on youth unemployment. Also, this is very important because some youth complain of lack of expertise, knowledge and technical know-how to fully operate as a farmer. However, this challenge can be conquered through the right use of the internet. On the internet, we have a lot of documentaries ranging from crop farming to animal farming and a lot of people are leveraging on the internet as sources of information to start something in the field of agriculture.
Yes, white collar jobs are good, but the system cannot rope in everyone thus the need to venture into other sectors of the economy. On the parts of Departments of Agriculture and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), regular training sessions and seminars must be held regularly in schools especially, to practically give a hands-on experience to students. This can be intensified and at the long run opened to the general public to realize the potentials of the agricultural sector. Increasingly, the interest of the youth is declining and this calls for practical and deliberate approach in dealing with the situation.
There are organizations and companies that offer assistance to farmers or potential farmers when the interest in farming is exhibited or expressed. These organizations must also give practical training and experience to the youth by intensifying and propagating their messages to the ordinary citizen. It’s a blessing to have organizations support the agricultural sector. It should be noted that these organizations can be championed by targeting who are already studying agricultural related programmes.
Also, the Ministry of Education has a pivotal role to play. Agriculture topics and courses should be treated as a distinct course and students given the opportunity to embark on tours on farmlands and agricultural companies. Bringing in this agenda will not only help the government, but will arouse the interest of the students in furthering their education in agriculture.
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