Farming the future: Youth enthusiasm and transforming Nepal’s economy through agriculture

Abstract

The authors conducted a study in December 2019 to investigate youth enthusiasm in Nepal for trans­forming the economy of the nation through farm­ing. A total of 320 respondents from four towns in three districts were selected for interviews that used a pretested questionnaire. Descriptive statis­tics were employed to analyze the data. Most of the youth had positive perceptions and enthusiasm toward farming, but many felt that farming was “burdensome,” due mainly to its perceived percep­tion to provide only a low income. Almost half the respondents (45%) were found to have a low level of contribution to economic transformation through farm involvement, with high (34%) and medium (21%) levels of contribution to the eco­nomy, respectively. There are several constraints hindering youth engagement with agriculture and overall agro-economic development. The major constraint is access to credit and markets, followed by poor social perception of farmers, inadequate government and extension service resources, access to modern technology, and other factors. The study authors recommend that the government and NGOs encourage youth engagement with agricul­ture by enhancing agricultural education, extension, financial support, and so forth. There is a need for extension program staff and policy-makers to bet­ter understand the role of youth in the community development process.