Agriculture is identified as one of the four economic pillars in our region and more so in Guyana. At the same time, it is one of the main sources of wealth generation for countries such as Guyana and other Caribbean States. Agriculture today has become less laborious and has become more technologically advanced which is one of the main driving forces for youth to get involved.
Millennial Advantage
Youth involvement in agriculture is critical at this juncture of our economic boom. The agriculture education systems show that the amount graduates in Agriculture Science has risen over one hundred percent from twenty years ago. This is a clear indicator that the number of young people, both male and female, interested in agricultural development has grown significantly. What does this mean for a nation like ours? It simply means that the method of agriculture that we have been doing in the past will have to change and it has been changing since the young trained agriculturists are more technologically advanced and has been educated in modern agricultural techniques.
In our world today, agriculture or farming is not being done simply as a hobby or as subsistence means of living, however, it is done as a business. Our youths today must understand this principle and once accepted, they can become an entrepreneur in one of the many areas of agriculture business development, whether its production, post harvest operations, marketing, agro-processing or exporting of the selected commodity.
Endless Agropreneurial Opportunities
Youth brings with it latent energy and the capacity and ability to produce as well as an excellent source of new ideas in the agriculture sector. The young generation today is one of the main markets for food consumption and is becoming very peculiar in their eating habits which are pointing in the direction of fresh wholesome food that is safe and of high quality. Youths in agriculture can tap into this opportunity to become entrepreneurs that will supply this fast growing market.
There are many other opportunities for youth involvement in agriculture and these include a vibrant and expanding market for primary and secondary agricultural commodities which offer tremendous opportunities for young people to earn good income for agricultural activities as well as existing incentives and policies that target youth enterprises such as small business development loans and funding for groups involved in agriculture.
With the continuous growth of the world’s population and rising demands for food, agriculture today is considered as one of the main sources of job opportunities, not only in the area of production, but every step of the operation. There are numerous opportunities being presented at the moment through the Ministry of Agriculture.
Blogpost written by: Aditya Persaud, Projects’/Research Officer
Photo credit: Luke Smith
