Abstract:
The agricultural sector is the foundation of Sri Lankan economy with large
population living in rural areas depending on agriculture for their livelihood.
According to rapid change in economic and social conditions, there is a challenge to
the government so as to attract youth to agricultural development programs. Though
literature reveals that a large proportion of unemployed youth have been relatively
highly educated, they do not perceive agriculture as a remunerative or prestigious
profession. The study was therefore carried out to identify the factors affecting youth
participation in agriculture and their satisfaction by doing agriculture as an
occupation using survey data conducted by Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research
and Training Institute (HARTI) during March/May, 2012. The age group of the
youth was between 15 to 29 years. Based on the separate 2-way classification tables,
it was found that gender, marital status, education level, monthly income, agricultural
experience, and availability of paddy land, agricultural machineries, agricultural
inputs, financial facilities, labour, water/irrigation facilities, agricultural extension
services, trainings and market facilities were significantly influential factors (p<0.05)
on youth participation in agriculture. However, using binary logistic regression
model revealed that only the education level, agricultural experience, and availability
of agricultural machineries, agricultural inputs and financial facilities were
significantly associated with youth participation in agriculture. Further, no significant
interaction was found between any of the above five variables. The validity of the
binary logistic model was confirmed by both Likelihood Ratio and Wald test using
the backward elimination method. Of those who participated in agriculture as an
occupation, marital status, education level, and availability of high land and labour
were significantly associated (p<0.05) with their satisfaction on agriculture. The
results obtained are useful for making policy decisions on youth activities. Based on
results obtained, it can be recommended that it is necessary to expand the extension
services through agricultural officers and keeping a strong and cooperative
relationship between officers and young farmers. Also, it is suggeste
