ICT adoption and youth employment in Nigeria's agricultural sector
African Journal of Economic and Management Studies
ISSN: 2040-0705
Article publication date: 5 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This paper argues that through information and communication technology (ICT) adoption, the youth will be engaged in all nodes of the agricultural value chains, thereby improving the level of employment and reducing post-harvest losses. The study examines the determinants of ICT adoption among the youth. In addition, it estimates the impact of ICT adoption on youth employment in agriculture towards the actualisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG-8, to promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, productive employment and decent work for all.
Design/methodology/approach
The study engages data from Wave 4 (2018/2019) of the Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA). The logit regression, the propensity score matching and the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment are used as the estimation techniques.
Findings
The study underscores that educational level, access to electricity, location, age and income are significant determinants of ICT adoption among the youth. The findings also show that the youth's average weekly engagement in agricultural activities is about 24 h. In addition, the result reveals that ICT adoption can increase youth agricultural employment by approximately 21%. The mean difference indicates that those with access to ICT participate in agricultural activities more than their counterparts without ICT access by 29.46%.
Research limitations/implications
One of the limitations of the study is that some of the variables such as insecurity, social protection/safety nets, that may have a significant influence on youth agricultural participation where not included in the model due to data constraint. As a recommendation for further studies, given data availability, such variables should be considered when examining youth-agricultural employment nexus.
Practical implications
Since ICT adoption has a significant impact on agricultural employment, this study proposes improved infrastructure facilities such as reliable power supply, lowering the cost of mobile and data subscriptions and better education facilities should be prioritised at all localities. This will enable the youth to embrace agriculture and help improve their socioeconomic welfare and livelihood.
Originality/value
Using Wave 4 of the LSMS-ISA, logit regression, propensity score matching and the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment, makes this study one of the very few to examine the impact of ICT adoption on agricultural employment among the youth in Nigeria. It implies that this study has provided empirical evidence and expanded the frontiers of knowledge on the extent to which ICT adoption influences youth agricultural employment in Nigeria.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This paper draws from the author's doctoral thesis. Thus, comments from the examiners and scholars at the various presentations made, are highly appreciated. The Linkage Research Grant between Witten/Herdecke University, Germany and Covenant University, Nigeria, awarded by Alexander Humboldt (AvH)'s Foundation [REF 3.4-1147508-NGA-IP] is acknowledged. The author is also grateful to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) for the funding under the grant 2000001374. Lastly, the author appreciates the anonymous reviewers and editor for their useful suggestions. The views expressed are those of the author.
Citation
Osabohien, R. (2023), "ICT adoption and youth employment in Nigeria's agricultural sector", African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-03-2022-0111
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited