Effects of rural-urban youth migration on farm families in Benue state, Nigeria
The study (PDF) in the International Journal of Agricultural Research, Innovation and Technology aimed to determine the effects of rural-urban youth migration on farm families in Benue state, Nigeria. Data was collected trough interviews from a sample of 80 respondents. Results indicate that majority (76.3%) of the respondents were males, middle aged and married. Major causes of rural-urban youth migration indicated by the respondents include inadequate employment opportunities in rural areas, search for better education, inadequate social infrastructure such as schools, poor medical care services in rural areas, looking for money through labour, apprenticeship programme, etc. Findings of the study also indicate that reduction of agricultural labour force, low agricultural productivity, high cost of labour, reduction on demand for locally grown foods, decrease in dependency ratio in the rural areas, reduction on number of mouths to feed, among others were major effects of ruralurban youth migration among farm families. The study recommends that Nigerian government should provide adequate physical and social infrastructure in rural areas in order to encourage youths to remain in agriculture, reduce rural-urban youth migration as well as sustain agriculture for enhanced food security.