ICTs Stimulate Participation of Youth in Agriculture

Smallholdings in developing countries have long been associated with poor farming practices, intensive labour and low income, which make the sector unattractive to a new generation of farmers. This is changing. A recent study commissioned by IICD, shows how access to ICT stimulates innovative production amongst youngsters, changes their image of farming and increases their social status. These themes are further explored in our publication, "ICT4D Effects: Youth, ICTs and Agriculture".

Three farmer organisations in Kenya under the Connect4Change programme participated in the study aimed at discovering the effects of ICT on young farmers.1 All three provided ICT training to help farmers get information about farming practices and use multimedia to enrich their training in production techniques. Open interviews with small focus groups and individuals were held, guided by a simple question format. Both young and older farmers were interviewed, as well as NGO staff, village leaders, the private sector and local government. In total, 93 persons took part in the study.

The findings
The research showed a substantive trend of youngsters displaying an increased interest in farming, caused by the creation of stronger farmer organisations with an amplified focus on the market (value chain development). This interest in farming is further strengthened by ICT providing access to markets and information to boost production. Farming is increasingly seen as a profitable business. Youngsters easily grasp the ICT applications, acquire information, and jump onto new market opportunities.

“ICT technologies such as mFarm are helping us connect directly with the markets. We no longer entirely rely on the services of the exploitative middlemen and because of this, we have more money for the same products previously farmed at a low price because we believed the prices the brokers quoted to us”. Hillary Kiplagat, 30-year-old potato farmer in Nyaru.

Among the youngsters interviewed, a distinction can be made between single persons in their early and mid-twenties, and young married farmers, often with young children. The first group sees ICT as a gateway to better jobs and employment outside or next to farming. The second group sees the importance of ICT for improving the productivity and profitability of their farming activities. They use ICT to get more reliable market and production information for their existing crops.

Older farmers undertook action to stimulate and motivate their children to attend ICT training, sometimes paying their fees. These farmers believe you cannot retain everybody in farming and that youth who decide to leave farming can serve as good ambassadors for farming, aided by the increased use of ICT that creates a more favourable image of farming activities. Youngsters moving to towns were seen as instrumental for discovering and identifying niche markets for their farm products.

In all three research locations, the youth tended to use ICT to access production knowledge such as the correct use of fertilisers and high yielding certified seeds. The resulting access to several information sources allowed information to be cross-checked. Extension workers and older farmers stated that youngsters ventured into more technically complex farming activities than older farmers. Examples range from the use of tissue culture for bananas to artificial insemination to improve breeding standards.

ICT is also used to keep proper records for improved farm management, compare different crops and seasons, calculate profit margins and assess risks. Robert Amodoi, 23 year-old farmer in Eldoret explains: “I needed a faster and efficient way of keeping my farm records for future reference and I found it at the ICT Centre through my training in Excel”.

Improved status
The use of ICT increases the social status of young persons. This acts as a motivating factor for ICT use. ICT creates an image of entrepreneurial young farmers who are keen to adopt new innovations. This results in the perception of young farmers changing in the eyes of external actors’ such as government extension officers. Because of increased yields and new farming practices applied, young people also became technical resource persons to other farmers. As Esther Chebus, an 18 year old farmer in Kakamega pointed out:

 “The people in my village now look up to me as the source of the latest farming information. This makes me feel important and it gives me a sense of responsibility in my community. They come to me whenever they want to know the latest prices of tomatoes or just new farming technologies.”

At field days the youth turns up in greater numbers. As a result of this transformation, government extension workers now start to consider the youth as their entry point into communities, through which they introduce modern knowledge and new ideas.


- See more at: http://www.iicd.org/articles/icts-stimulate-participation-of-youth-in-agriculture#sthash.v6IVQTjV.dpuf