Analysis of farm and non-farm occupational choices among youth in rural Tanzania
The agricultural sector in rural Tanzania is practiced more by elderly people than by the youth. This study examined the determinants of youth occupational choice between farming and non-farming in rural Tanzania. Specifically, the study intended to establish the trend of farming and non-farming occupation choices among youth; analyze the determinants of farming and non-farming occupational choices, and to analyze the impact of youth occupational choice on their subjective welfare. The study used National Panel Surveys of 2008/9, 2010/11, 2012/13, and 2014/15. The determinants of occupational choices were analyzed using the logistic regression model while the effect of occupational choice on subjective welfare was estimated using treatment-effect estimation with the nearest-neighbor estimator. The findings show that there was a sustained drop out of youth from farming occupations from the year 2008/09 to 2014/15. Furthermore, education level was found to influence the dropping out of youth from farming to non-farming occupations while land ownership motivates youth to join farming occupations. There was no statistically significant difference between the subjective welfare of youth engaging in farming and those in non-farming occupations. The study recommends the following: introducing agriculture as a subject in primary schools, stabilizing farm products’ markets, changing the perception of youth towards farming, and encouraging a land tenure system that allows youth’s full ownership of farming land.
Related Articles
INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR TANZANIA
The overall objective of this research project is to identify institutional bottlenecks that limit competitiveness and enterprise development in the productive sectors– and the enabling policy framework to address them effectively. Specifically, the research project will seek to undertake three objectives, namely (i) Analysis of the institutional framework for enterprisedevelopment and competitiveness; (ii) Analysis of […]
The Global Competitiveness Report: Special Edition 2020
How Countries are Performing on the Road to Recovery The deep economic recession triggered by COVID-19 continues to have profound economic and social consequences. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, unemployment rates have rapidly increased in most developing and advanced economies, and poverty rates have begun to rise again, reversing the gains achieved over the […]
Skills Landscape and Sustainability of Youth-led Business Establishments
Youth unemployment has become the biggest development challenge in Tanzania. Young people have few opportunities to learn skills so as to help them start and sustain their established micro and small enterprises and, therefore, the majority of youth-owned enterprises do not survive beyond one year. This research aimed at assessing the youth skills landscape and […]
Extent and Determinants of Women Participation in Agro-Processing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
The role of women in the promotion of agriculture and industrial development in Tanzania has recently become paramount. The existing studies on the role of women in agriculture sector have dominantly focused on challenges and opportunities and ignored the determinants and extent of their participation in agro-processing sector. This study was therefore set to examine […]