Socio Economic and Institutional Determinants of Youth’s Participation in Rice Production in Kogi and Nasarawa States

The study was carried out to determine the socioeconomic and institutional factors of youth’s participation in rice production in Kogi and Nasarawa States. The objectives of the study were to determine the socioeconomic characteristics of youth involved in rice production activities in the study area, determine the level of participation of youth in rice production activities in the study area, determine rice productive resources available to youth in the study area, analyze the socioeconomic and institutional factors that affect youth participation in rice production activities in the study area and to identify constraints facing youth in rice production activities in the study area. Two hypothesis were tested in the study. A well-structured questionnaire was used for data collection while a multi stage sampling technique was employed to obtain the 372 respondents used for the study. Descriptive statistics, multiple regression and Chi square analyses were used to actualize the various objectives of the study while the hypotheses of the study were tested using t-test statistics. The regression analysis revealed that marital status, household size, and income, among others, were all significant at 1% probability level. The Chi square results shows that extension contact, membership of cooperative societies, access to loans and credit, and access to farm machineries, had significant relationships with the participation of youth in rice production activities. Conflicts with herdsmen, poor access to capital, poor irrigation facilities, and poor processing facilities were outlined by the respondents as the major challenge facing youth involved in rice production in the study area. It was however recommended that necessary steps should be taken to solve farmers-herders clashes so as to enable peaceful co-existence between herders and farmers. It was also recommended that loans and credits be made accessible to youth involved in rice farming in the study area