Participation of out-of-school youth in agricultural programmes in Bushbuckridge, Nothern Province
Bushbuckridge is an area that is largely (approximately 90%) rural. The rural areas are characterized by a scarcity of job opportunities as opposed to the abundance of such opportunities in certain designated areas. As a matter of fact the availability of job opportunities would arguably place the out- of -school youth in good stead of employment. The only prevalent opportunity for the youth is in agriculture. The study was conducted within New Forest and Orinnocco where a larger portion of the population is made up by youth below the age of 35 years and who are unemployed. There is a New Forest irrigation scheme, and on the scheme the larger population of farmers are aging farming population, very few young population is actively involved in agriculture. The study investigate the attitudes of out- of- school youth towards participation in agriculture. The findings of the study indicated that the majority of the out- of-school youth are less aware of the agriculture in terms of providing job for them. Consequently, they are affected socially and psychologically and are rendered vulnerable to engage in criminal activities. Various recommendations have been advanced. The researcher indicated the need for integration of theory and practical work to be initiated at a primary school level so that children can develop basic agricultural skills as well as community awareness campaigns and skill training among youth targeting on changing the attitudes of parents and youth. This can be effected through agricultural programmes for youth to participate and create jobs for themselves. The findings cannot be generalized in an inclusive way to cover the whole population of South Africa due to the size of the population from which the researcher collected data.
Youth-agricultural activities., Agricultural programs-northern province.
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