Prospects of Agriculture as a Lifelong Livelihood Option for Young Indian Rural Population: A Case Study

In: International journal of social ecology and sustainable development: IJSESD ; an official publication of the Information Resources Management Association, Volume 13, Issue 1, p. 1-15

Abstract

There is a huge untapped reservoir of employment opportunities in agriculture which requires cultivating the young generation of farmers, food entrepreneurs, etc. Due to agricultural innovations made at the global and national level, the young population can leverage technology, leading to increase in productivity, efficiency and output and addressing the issue of food security. For promoting employment for youths in agriculture and making farming a remunerative economic activity, initiatives have been taken by FAO and by Government of India. The present study focuses on demographic profile of the youth, explores agriculture as an economically viable livelihood option for the youth and highlights the Indian Government policy measures and technological interventions for making agriculture an attractive employment option; discusses the initiatives taken by FAO for promotion of employment in agriculture and finally paper concludes by examining the role of rural youth in addressing the challenge of food security at the national level.