Agriculture as an Employment Intervention Strategy: Is it all Motion and No Movement?
Osadebamwen Anthony Ogbeide (2016). Mayfair Journal of Agriculture Development in Emerging Economies Vol. 1, Iss. No.2, Pp 1-11

The objective of the paper was to assess the progress made using the agriculture employment intervention programs to reduce youth unemployment. The study was conducted in three local government areas of Edo State, Nigeria. The methodology included qualitative research that used focus group discussions to generate data, which was then analysed and interpreted. The subsequent results were positive, recommending both a continuation and further application of the program. Policy improvements were also identified in relation to the difficulties found in increasing participation among urban dwellers who negatively associated the work with hard, physically demanding and stressful labour. This common viewpoint indicated that the selection of youth participants should include the criteria of rural resilience and coping abilities. The results also highlighted that the implementation of the program at times did not follow the natural production cycle for cropping and that system support was limited for the beneficiaries. It was also recommended that future programs must be well articulated, designed, resourced and piloted before full implementation, for sustainable results. Supervision and monitoring must be closely done and performance compared against expectation and the resourcing of the participants in the program must be adequate and timely. While insightful, there did exist factors that impacted the quality of the study. Most of the participants in the study had close links with the government as employee or beneficiaries of the scheme. The need to protect their employment and income left them often reserved in their opinions and comments.

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