Youth agricultural entrepreneurship: Assessing the impact of agricultural training programmes on performance

Abstract

Using the case of the Fadama Graduate Unemployed Youth and Women Support (GUYS) programme, this study investigated the impact of agricultural training programmes on youth agripreneurship performance in Nigeria. A total of 977 respondents comprising of 455 participants of the programme and 522 non-participants were sampled across three states in Nigeria. Data were collected using a well-structured questionnaire programmed on Open Data Kit (ODK). Data were analysed using the Endogenous Treatment Effect Regression (ETER) model. The probit model results revealed that participation in the programme was significantly influenced by age, years of formal education, marital status, current residence, employment type, and perception of training. The empirical analysis showed that after controlling for endogeneity, participation in the programme led to better performance which was measure in terms of average income from agripre-neurship activities. These findings highlight the significance of training in improving the performance of young agripreneurs and suggest the need to encourage and out-scale programmes such as the Fadama GUYS, both in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa as they can contribute to better performance of youth-owned agribusiness firms.