Who wants to farm? Answers depend on how you ask: A case study on youth aspirations in Kenya

While there is a consensus that rural poverty has to be reduced, there are two opposing views on the role that agriculture can play in this regard: a “farm-based” and an “off-farm led” development paradigm where the respective other sector is merely a complementary income source during a transition...

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Main Authors: LaRue, Katie, Daum, Thomas, Mausch, Kai, Harris, Dave
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/171322
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author LaRue, Katie
Daum, Thomas
Mausch, Kai
Harris, Dave
author_browse Daum, Thomas
Harris, Dave
LaRue, Katie
Mausch, Kai
author_facet LaRue, Katie
Daum, Thomas
Mausch, Kai
Harris, Dave
author_sort LaRue, Katie
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description While there is a consensus that rural poverty has to be reduced, there are two opposing views on the role that agriculture can play in this regard: a “farm-based” and an “off-farm led” development paradigm where the respective other sector is merely a complementary income source during a transition period. The latter paradigm is supported by studies finding that rural youth in sub-Saharan Africa are not particularly interested in agriculture. However, policy discourse on youth in agriculture often situates their aspirations as either full-time farming or non-farming, thus either supporting or opposing one or the other of the two paradigms, while neglecting the shades of grey between these two extremes. Using a mixed-methods approach—a household survey and a narrative-based tool called SenseMaker—to collect data from both adults and youth in 261 households in rural Kenya, this study suggests that this categorical understanding needs to be revisited to inform rural development strategies based on the actual aspirations of rural youth.
format Journal Article
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language Inglés
publishDate 2021
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spelling CGSpace1713222025-02-19T14:36:20Z Who wants to farm? Answers depend on how you ask: A case study on youth aspirations in Kenya LaRue, Katie Daum, Thomas Mausch, Kai Harris, Dave farms farmers youth rural areas rural development poverty farming systems agriculture rural youth While there is a consensus that rural poverty has to be reduced, there are two opposing views on the role that agriculture can play in this regard: a “farm-based” and an “off-farm led” development paradigm where the respective other sector is merely a complementary income source during a transition period. The latter paradigm is supported by studies finding that rural youth in sub-Saharan Africa are not particularly interested in agriculture. However, policy discourse on youth in agriculture often situates their aspirations as either full-time farming or non-farming, thus either supporting or opposing one or the other of the two paradigms, while neglecting the shades of grey between these two extremes. Using a mixed-methods approach—a household survey and a narrative-based tool called SenseMaker—to collect data from both adults and youth in 261 households in rural Kenya, this study suggests that this categorical understanding needs to be revisited to inform rural development strategies based on the actual aspirations of rural youth. 2021-08 2025-01-29T12:58:00Z 2025-01-29T12:58:00Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/171322 en Open Access Springer LaRue, Katie; Daum, Thomas; Mausch, Kai; and Harris, Dave. 2021. Who wants to farm? Answers depend on how you ask: A case study on youth aspirations in Kenya. European Journal of Development Research 33: 885–909. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-020-00352-2
spellingShingle farms
farmers
youth
rural areas
rural development
poverty
farming systems
agriculture
rural youth
LaRue, Katie
Daum, Thomas
Mausch, Kai
Harris, Dave
Who wants to farm? Answers depend on how you ask: A case study on youth aspirations in Kenya
title Who wants to farm? Answers depend on how you ask: A case study on youth aspirations in Kenya
title_full Who wants to farm? Answers depend on how you ask: A case study on youth aspirations in Kenya
title_fullStr Who wants to farm? Answers depend on how you ask: A case study on youth aspirations in Kenya
title_full_unstemmed Who wants to farm? Answers depend on how you ask: A case study on youth aspirations in Kenya
title_short Who wants to farm? Answers depend on how you ask: A case study on youth aspirations in Kenya
title_sort who wants to farm answers depend on how you ask a case study on youth aspirations in kenya
topic farms
farmers
youth
rural areas
rural development
poverty
farming systems
agriculture
rural youth
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/171322
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AT mauschkai whowantstofarmanswersdependonhowyouaskacasestudyonyouthaspirationsinkenya
AT harrisdave whowantstofarmanswersdependonhowyouaskacasestudyonyouthaspirationsinkenya