{"id":928,"date":"2026-07-12T19:52:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:52:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=928"},"modified":"2026-07-12T19:52:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T18:52:38","slug":"youth-shun-farming-as-nigeria-faces-declining-agricultural-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/?p=928","title":{"rendered":"Youth Shun Farming as Nigeria Faces Declining Agricultural Workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Andrew Ogbomo<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerns are mounting over the declining number of young Nigerians taking up farming,
as experts warn that the ageing agricultural workforce could threaten the country’s long-
term food security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Agriculture remains one of Nigeria’s largest employers and a major contributor to national
food production and industrial development. However, experts say fewer young people are
embracing farming despite the country’s youthful population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a report by Souq News, the average Nigerian farmer is now in their late 40s
or 50s, while youth participation in agriculture remains relatively low even though more
than 70 per cent of the country’s population is under the age of 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


The report attributed the declining interest in farming to several factors, including low
financial returns, insecurity in farming communities, limited access to credit facilities,
inadequate agricultural infrastructure, climate change and the attraction of better-paying
jobs in urban areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Modern Farm Machinery Improves Productivity, Reduces Labour Costs,Experts Say<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts warned that unless more young people are encouraged to enter agriculture, Nigeria
could experience declining food production, higher food prices and increased dependence
on imported food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


They explained that as older farmers retire without younger replacements, the country’s
agricultural productivity may gradually decline, placing additional pressure on the
economy and national food security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Agricultural stakeholders have therefore called for deliberate government investment
aimed at making farming more attractive to young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


They recommended improved access to agricultural loans, modern farming equipment,
mechanised farming techniques, extension services and secure farming environments as
measures that could encourage greater youth participation in agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ ALSO:<\/strong> Fans Hail Davido\u2019s FIFIA World Cup Outfit For Raising Awareness On Nigeria\u2019s Growing Insect<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts also advocated policies that support agribusiness development and youth-led
agricultural enterprises, noting that agriculture should be promoted as a profitable business
rather than merely a subsistence occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


They maintained that strengthening the agricultural sector through increased youth
involvement is essential to achieving sustainable food production and long-term economic
development in Nigeria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Andrew Ogbomo Concerns are mounting over the declining number of young Nigerians taking up farming,as experts warn that the ageing agricultural workforce could threaten the country’s long-term food security. Agriculture remains one of Nigeria’s largest employers and a major contributor to nationalfood production and industrial development. However, experts say fewer young people areembracing farming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,14],"tags":[31,66,233,235],"class_list":["post-928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abrakametro","category-trendingnews","tag-abraka","tag-agriculture","tag-farming","tag-youth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":930,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/928\/revisions\/930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mediaconversation.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}