Youth Participation in Agribusiness and Associated Factors in Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the extent of youth participation in agribusiness and its associated factors in Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, Nigeria. The study adopted a cross-sectional survey design. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 204 youths involved in agribusiness from 16 villages across three purposively selected wards. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with a Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficient of 0.84. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the extent of participation, while ordered logistic regression was employed to examine the factors associated with participation categories. Participation was measured as the proportion of the identified agribusiness activities in which each respondent participated. The results showed that 39.2% of the respondents had low participation breadth, 23.5% had medium participation breadth, and 37.3% had high participation breadth. The mean participation score was 46.96% (SD = 21.57). The ordered logistic regression model was statistically significant (LR χ2(10) = 155.31, p < .001). Age, sex, education, household size, farm size, amount of credit accessed, training, annual income, and extension contact were significantly associated with participation category, whereas years of agribusiness experience was not statistically significant. The study concludes that youth participation in agribusiness varies considerably in breadth and is associated with a combination of socioeconomic and institutional characteristics. The study recommends improved youth-oriented access to credit, training, extension services, productive resources, and diversified agribusiness opportunities.