Economic contribution of farm children to agricultural production in Nigeria: A case study of Ekiti State of Nigeria.

This study examined the economic contribution of farm children in agricultural production. To achieve this broad objective, the research work identified the personal characteristics of the farm children, investigated the major activities and examined the attitude of farm children to farming as an occupation. The study also looks into problems of farm children in relation to farm activities, or what they detest most in farming. The study area is Ekiti state of Nigeria. The population for the study comprises all children born or nurtured by farming households or by farmer parents and in a village, which is predominantly considered as a farming community. Structured interview schedule was used in collecting information from 300 farm children in the study area. Stratified random sampling technique was employed. The results show that gender and age play significant roles in contribution of farm children to agricultural production with calculated χ2 =10.035=tabulated χ2 = 9.488; and calculated χ2 = 26.557= tabulated χ2 = 21.026, respectively. The study concluded that despite the fact that the interviewed youths contribute immensely to agricultural production, most of them are not satisfied with the way farming is being practiced in the study area. They are therefore not encouraged to consider farming as profession. It was recommended that non-government organizations (NGOs) as well as the government should ensure that modern tools and agro-chemicals, as well as improved farm technologies essential for farmers on the field are made available at affordable prices. This will lessen the drudgery of farm operations, thereby making farm ventures more attractive to youths.