The Ageing Crisis Threatening Farming in Ethiopia: An Analysis of Youth Involvement in Agriculture
Daniel Hailu
Department of Agricultural Economics, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
https://doi.org/10.47191/jefms/v7-i1-72ABSTRACT:
This study examined youth labor force participation in agriculture and factors impeding effective participation in Ethiopia using the 2011-2018 data from the Living Standards Measurement Survey-Integrated Survey of Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). The analytical tools included both descriptive statistics and econometric analysis. Summary statistics show that the average age of the respondents was 47 years, thus they are not at an economically active age. This is an upward trend of 52 years in 2018 compared to 44 years in 2011. The ordinary least square (OLS) regression result indicated that for every 1 unit increase in the independent variable (time), there will be a 1.01 increase in the dependent variable (farm age). The result showed that the increase in time affected age of the farming positively and significantly. The evidence suggested farming population in Ethiopia is growing older and reduced involvement of youth (14.4%). The results also revealed low participation of youth in agriculture activities which increases youth unemployment. In turn, the total dependency ratio in the population equals 102.7. This high dependency ratio means that the ‘dependents’ in society are more reliant on a smaller number of working-aged people, which suggests that for every 1027 dependents, there are roughly 1000 working-age people providing them food through farming. The review result showed youth participation in Ethiopian agriculture is influenced by limited access to land, low attitude on agriculture (attitudinal problems), inadequate access to financial services, problems of rural life, and backwardness of agricultural tools. The study suggests that efforts to shape future work in Ethiopian agriculture should include among other things, access to land and provision of credit facilities. The study pointed out that the efforts to shape the future of agricultural work in Ethiopia should ensure the availability of land and credit.
KEYWORDS:
Youth, Ageing, Dependency, Agriculture (Farming), Participation, Unemployment, Rural, Ethiopia.
REFERENCES:
1) Aragaw Sergo (2014). Aspirations of rural youth towards Agriculture: the case of Hulet Eju Enese woreda, East Gojjam zone. A Thesis Submitted to Department of Sociology In Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Art in Sociology. Addis Ababa University. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
2) CIA (Central intelligence agency) World Fact book. (2019). Ethiopia demographics profile. https://www.indexmundi.com/ethiopia/demographics_profile.html.
3) Crewett, W., Bogale, A., & Korf, B. (2008). Land tenure in Ethiopia - Continuity and change, shifting rulers, and the quest for state control. Collective Action and Property Rights (CAPRi) Working Paper No. 91, CAPRi and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/CAPRiWP91.
4) Emily Schmidt and Firew Bekele (2016). Rural youth and employment in Ethiopia. Ethiopia Strategy Support Program. ESSP WORKING PAPER 98.
5) FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). (2017). The future of food and agriculture – Trends and challenges. Rome.
6) Getachew Shambel Endris, Muluken Gezahegn Wordofa, Chanyalew Seyoum Aweke, Jemal Yousuf Hassen, Jeylan Wolyie Hussien, Dereje Kifle Moges, Million Sileshi, Abdulmuen Mohammed Ibrahim, Kadija Kadiro & Kidesena Sebsibe (2022) A review of the socio-ecological and institutional contexts for youth livelihood transformation in Miesso Woreda, Eastern Ethiopia, Cogent Social Sciences, 8:1, 2152210, DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2022.2152210
7) Getnet Tadele and Asrat Ayalew (2012). “Last resort and often not an option at all”: Youth, education and farming as livelihood in Ethiopia. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
8) Getnet Tadele and Asrat Ayalew (2014). Becoming a young farmer in Ethiopia: Processes and challenges. Future Agricultures Consortium (FAC) Working Paper 083. Available at: www. futureagricultures.org. (Accessed 14 November 2022)
9) Headey, D., Dereje, M., & Taffesse, A. S. (2014). Land constraints and agricultural intensification in Ethiopia: A village-level analysis of high-potential areas. Food Policy, 48, 129–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.01.008
10) Kassa Tarekegn, Kusse Kamaylo, Duge Galtsa, and Endrias Oyka (2022). Youth Participation in Agricultural Enterprises as Rural Job Creation Work and Its Determinants in Southern Ethiopia. Hindawi. Advances in Agriculture.
11) Katrina Kosec, Hosaena Ghebru, Brian Holtemeyer, Valerie Mueller, Emily Schmidt (2017). The Effect of Land Access on Youth Employment and Migration Decisions: Evidence from Rural Ethiopia.
12) National Youth Policy (2004). Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. 12 March, 2004. Addis Ababa.
13) Patton, G.C.; Coffey, C.; Sawyer, S.M.; Viner, R.M.; Haller, D.M.; Bose, K.; Vos, T.; Ferguson, J.; Mathers, C.D. (2009). Global patterns of mortality in young people: A systematic analysis of population health data. Lancet, 374, 881–892.
14) Perez, R.D.G.; Sendra, M.J.M.; Lopez-i-Gelats, F. (2020). Strategies and drivers determining the incorporation of young farmers into the livestock sector. J. Rural Stud., 78, 131–148.
15) Schmidt, Emily & Woldeyes, Firew Bekele, (2019). "Rural youth and employment in Ethiopia," IFPRI book chapters, in: Youth and jobs in rural Africa: Beyond stylized facts, chapter 5, pages yj109-136, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
16) Simões, F.; Brito do Rio, N. (2020). How to increase rural NEETs professional involvement in agriculture? The roles of youth representations and vocational training packages improvement. J. Rural Stud., 75, 9–19.
17) Taddesse Moreda (2020). Review on Factors Affecting Youth Participation in Agribusiness in Ethiopia. Plant. Vol. 8, No. 4, 2020, pp. 80-86. doi: 10.11648/j.plant.20200803.15
18) Tizazu Obsa Likasa (2019). “Rural Youth Participation in Agriculture in Begi district of West Wollega Zone of Oromia regional state, Ethiopia.”IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS).vol. 24 no. 11, 2019, pp. 35-41.
19) USAID (2012). Comprehensive Youth and Workforce Development Assessment in Rural Ethiopia. USAID/Ethiopia. GDG-A-03-00010-00 EQUIP 3.
20) United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision (ST/ESA/SER.A/420). New York: United Nations.
21) United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2013). DEFINITION OF YOUTH.
22) USAID (2021). AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY. Accessed from https://2017-2020.usaid.gov/ethiopia/agriculture-and-food-security on January 2022.
23) Wondale Temesgen Tedla (2019). Rural Youth Livelihood Opportunities and Impediments of Livelihood Strategy Choice in North Western Ethiopia. Journal of Poverty, Investment and Development.
24) Zagata, L.; Sutherland, L.A (2015). Deconstructing the ‘young farmer problem in Europe’: Towards a research agenda. J. Rural Stud., 38, 39–51.
