Youth in agricultural Extension – Challenges and opportunities

Agricultural extension and I

For the past 3 years, I have been studying agriculture with specialization in agricultural extension at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mauritius. During my work-based placement, I have worked at the Agricultural Research and Extension Unit (AREU), where I have got the opportunity to get some work experience in agricultural extension and I have also done my dissertation on the subject. Being involved in agricultural extension, I have seen that youth, as well as experienced professionals are facing several challenges in agricultural extension.

Agricultural Extension in Mauritius

Youth involvement in agricultural extension 

Presently, finding youth involved in agriculture is rare in Mauritius, since their main focus are on subjects related to management and engineering. This is so, because the image of agriculture does not appear “attractive” to youth and for many of them, agriculture is not even an option (Read more on attractiveness of agriculture to youth HERE). However, according to the annual report 2009/1010 of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Mauritius,. However, according to the annual report 2009/1010 of the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Mauritius, each year, there about 120 students who enrol for courses related to agricultural sciences for their undergraduate degree. This also implies that every year, there are about 120 graduates from the Faculty of Agriculture. But how many of these graduates are involved in extension? Probably not many because of 2 main reasons; (a) there are not many job opportunities in agricultural extension in Mauritius and (b) extension involves working in the field with farmers, requires several skills and it is a challenging job.

Challenges

When considering the challenges faced by youth in agricultural extension, there are 2 ways in which it can be seen; (a) Challenges faced by young graduates and (b) challenges faced by young professionals.


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