Problems and prospects of self-employment of trained rural youth in agriculture

Abstract

This study was designed to identify the problems and prospects of trained rural youth in agriculture with extent of adoption of scientific practices and their entrepreneurial behaviour. Sericulture being a newly introduced self employment avenue and beekeeping being an old avenue with a lot of trainings imparted to the unemployed youth were selected as the self employment avenues for the study. Following multistage random sampling 200 trained youth were selected from the five blocks of Idukki district as 50 practising and 50 non practising in each selected avenue and interviewed to study their entrepreneurial behaviour, extent of adoption of scientific practices in sericulture and beekeeping and their profile characteristics. Regarding the problems in sericulture lack of assured price, small holding size, inadequate extension support, lack of quality planting materials, non availability of credit, lack of marketing facilities were identified as major problems and effective utilisation of family labour, minimise unemployment status and gain additional income to the family were the major prospects. In beekeeping, loss of bees due to virus disease, lack of fixed price for honey, inadequate training, non availability of credit, disease free bees, lack of organised marketing network were identified as major problems whereas effective utilisation of family labour, gain additional income to the family, and conservation of vegetation were the major prospects. Majority of the practising youth in two avenues had high level of entrepreneurial behaviour and the non practising youth had low level of entrepreneurial behaviour. Study revealed that majority of the sampled youth had high level of adoption in sericulture and beekeeping. Decision making ability and competition orientation have no correlation with extent of adoption in sericulture, whereas in beekeeping, innovation proneness and competetion orientation have no relation. Regarding the personal characteristics majority of the had less farming experience, less annual income less training, low level of extension contact, extension participation and high level of knowledge, information seeking behaviour and mass media exposure. Extension contact, extension participation, mass media exposure, knowledge and training attended had no significant relationship with entrepreneurial behaviour. Farming experience, annual income, mass media exposure, knowledge and information seeking behaviour were positively and significantly influencing extent of adoption of scientific practices.