PARTICIPATION OF IN AND OUT OF SCHOOL YOUTH IN DECISION-MAKING ON SHOWCASING SUCCESS STORIES BY YOUNG AGRI-PRENEURS FOR MOTIVATION TO IMPLEMENT AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMMES

The study was carried out to evaluate influence of participation of in and out of school youth in decision-making on showcasing success stories by young agri-preneurs for motivation of adolescents in rural areas to implement agricultural programmes for self-reliance.  The first objective evaluated influence of the level of exposure to showcasing success stories on the level of implementation using a likert scale coded 1 to 10. The second objective determined how youth in and out of school rated strategies proposed to increase their participation in decision making on showcasing success stories using a 5 point rating scale. The study was carried out in Kisii and Nyamira counties region, Kenya in 2019-2021. Survey research design was used. Stratified, purposive and simple random procedures were applied in sampling of respondents. The in-school youth comprised of fourth forms enrolled in school agriculture for the Kenya certificate of secondary education examination (KCSE).  There were 361 youth sampled from 36 secondary schools of 3 different categories. The out of school youth consisted of 161 young people out of 280, that had similarly studied agriculture in their schooling days and are registered with 75 youth groups promoting agricultural activities for livelihood. The schools and youth groups are spread in 5 differrent farm types typical of Kenyan farming systems. The farm types were used as sampling points to provide varied segments of youth in exposure to farming activities, opportunities for livelihood and challenges in the application of vocational skills acquired in school agriculture for self-reliance. Results show that gender of youth in and out of school does not have a significant difference in the level of participation in decision making on showcasing success stories in agripreneurship. School youth were significantly more exposed to success stories than out of school. Youth in and out of school were in concurrence that strategies 5, 6, 4 and 3 were more significantly very important than the rest in increasing their participation in decision making in showcasing events. Strategy 5 on decision making is rated as outstanding by both in-and-out of school youth. The strategy 5 prioritizes formation of agribusiness clubs at community level in rural areas where successful agri-preneurs could mentor the out of school youth, share ideas, and experiences to motivate them and acquire more and specialized agricultural vocational skills for livelihood. There is  a positive significant and linear correlation between the level of participation in decision making on showcasing success stories in agripreneurship and the level of implementation of agricultural  programmes by youth in (R = 0.30, p < 0.01) and out (R = 0.438762, p < 0.01) of school. So, showcasing success stories could considerably contribute to learning experiences, acquisition of more and specialized skills, and motivate implementation of the programmes for self-reliance. Keywords: youth participation, decision-making, showcasing agripreneur

OUT OF SCHOOL YOUTH REFLECTION ON PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING ON IMPLEMENTATION OF SCHOOL AGRICULTURE PROGRAMME

Secondary school agriculture is meant among other benefits to prepare the out of school youth in attaining self-reliance using vocational skills gained, in the post-schooling period as they transition to adulthood. A study was done to determine the reflection of out of school youth on participation in decision-making on the implementation of the programme in an effort to establish measures to improve its outcomes. In the feedback, the out-of-school youth rated their level of participation in decision making on implementation at a mean score of 6 out of 10 indicating that there is still room for improvement. There was a non-significant difference between male and female out-of-school youth (t = 1.970, p > 0.05) in decision making on implementation. There were significant differences (F = 6.486, p < 0.01) amongst out-of-school youth on the level of participation in decision making on implementation as a result of the diversity of school category attended and background of parents’ land size (F = 7.527, p < 0.01). Youth participation in decision-making on implementation increased with parents’ land size in the range 0 to 4 acres, with those from 10 acres and more not conforming to the trend. The out-of-school youth rated as very important the five strategies proposed to enhance their engagement in decision making on implementation. The strategies 4 and 6 were ranked more significantly very important thereby standing out from the rest. Strategy 4, states that if school administration could listen to the voices of youth it will build confidence for free discussions on the challenges faced in implementation. Strategy 6 advocates for the inclusion of youth in decision-making on the use of the school farm to enable them air their views on its proper utilization as a training facility rather than being used to administer punishment to errant students. There was a strong positive correlation between the level of participation in decision-making and the level of implementation of the school agriculture curriculum. The high rating of strategies proposed suggests the need to address the pertinent issues in them so as to enhance the participation of youth in decision-making on implementation for improved outcomes. Thus, the inclusion of feedback from the out-of-school youth and elements of the strategies developed in the review and implementation of the school agriculture programme would improve its effectiveness in attaining intended objectives

Student youth participation in decision making on implementation of school agriculture programme: Implementation of school agriculture programme

The idea of ‘‘student voice’’ in decision making and change efforts of schools, has emerged as a potential strategy for improving learners’ outcomes. It is expected in its participatory curriculum implementation of secondary school agriculture programme could transfer scientific knowledge through classroom teaching thus attain its academic objective, Also, impart vocational skills in student youth through demonstration of best practices and implementation of agricultural projects in the school farm. However, past studies show that youth that have gone through school agriculture curriculum are inadequately equipped with vocational agricultural skills necessary for self-reliance hence the need for improvement. The objective of this study is to determine the influence of participation of student youth in decision making on implementation of school agriculture programme and to suggest measures to improve its impact on the vocational objective. Student youth are school form fours studying agriculture subject and implementing projects for the Kenya certificate of secondary school examination (KCSE) 2019 which is a national test. Student youth were selected from three categories of schools offering agriculture subject, spread in five typical of Kenyan farm types found in Kisii and Nyamira counties region, Kenya. Cross-sectional survey design was used. Proportionate, stratified, purposive, and simple random sampling procedures were used to select a sample of 361 student youth as respondents for the study. Data was collected using questionnaires, analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics at significance level of 0.05 using SPSS version 21. Results show that student youth rate their level of participation in decision making on implementation of school agriculture programme at a mean score of 6 out of 10 indicating that there is still room for improvement on the same. Student youth rated as very important the five strategies proposed to enhance their engagement in decision making on implementation of school agriculture programme with some plans being ranked more significantly very important. There is a strong positive correlation between the level of participation in decision making and the level of implementation of the agriculture programme. The high rating of strategies proposed indicates the need to address the pertinent issues in them to enhance the quality of participation of student youth in decision making on implementation of the programmes. The strategies ranked as more significantly very important are 5, 4 and 2. These findings will be useful to improve the transfer of knowledge, skills and thus attain the vocational objective. Also to enhance learning and developmental outcomes in young people for self-reliance.   Keywords: Student-youth, decision-making, school agriculture programme, strategie

Engagement of Out of School Youth in Decision Making During Showcasing of Success Stories by Young Agripreneurs and Its Effect on Implementation of Agricultural Programmes

Participation of out of school youth in decision making on showcasing success stories by young agripreneurs would act as motivation for them to increase implementation of agricultural programmes for self reliance. However, there is problem of low participation of out of school youth in decision making on showcasing success by young agripreneurs. Out of school youths who have completed secondary school agriculture are scantly exposed in agripreneurship. It is expected that the gap in knowledge and skills would be filled by the youth participating in showcasing success events by young agripreneurs. This research was conducted to establish the influence of participation of out of school youth in decision-making on showcasing success stories by young agripreneurs on implementation of agricultural programmes. The investigation was conducted in three categories of secondary schools offering agriculture subject, spread in five agro-ecological zones typical of Kenyan farm types, and found in Kisii and Nyamira counties region. Cross-sectional survey design was used. Out of school youth are those who studied agriculture subject and are registered with youth groups within their localities engaged in agricultural activities for creation of livelihoods. Stratified, purposive, and simple random sampling procedures were used to select a sample size of 160 out of school youth. Data was collected using questionnaires, analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics at probability level of 0.05 using SPSS version 21. Results show that gender of out of school youth does not make a significant difference in the level of participation in decision making on showcasing events by young agripreneurs. Youth out of school are in concurrence that strategies 5, 4, 3 and 6 are more significantly very important than the rest in increasing their participation in decision making during showcasing success stories by young agripreneurs. Strategy 5 is identified as outstanding out of the four and advocates for the formation of agribusiness clubs at community level where successful agripreneurs can mentor the out of school youth, share ideas, experiences and  showcase their successes. There is a positive significant linear correlation between level of participation in decision making during showcasing of success stories by young agripreneurs and the level of implementation of agricultural programmes by youth out of school (R= 0.438762, p = 0.00). These findings will be useful in addressing issues of out of school youth on participation in decision making during showcasing success stories by young agripreneurs to prompt them implement agricultural programmes for independence

Influence of Participation of School Youth in Decision Making During Showcasing Success Stories by Young Agripreneurs on Implementation of Agricultural Programmes

School agriculture programme was introduced in secondary education curriculum in Kenya in 1965 and has academic objective to transfer scientific knowledge, and a vocational one to impart skills that would enable youth become self reliant. However, the vocational objective is scantly attained and school youth are inadequate in skills necessary for creation of livelihoods. It is expected that school youth would acquire more and specialized skills for independence through implementation of agricultural programmes such as in showcasing success stories by young agripreneurs. Participation in decision making on the showcasing events would act as motivation for youth to increase implementation of agricultural programmes. However, there is problem of low participation of school youth in decision making on implementation during showcasing success stories by young agripreneurs. This research was conducted to establish the influence of participation of school youth in decision-making during showcasing by young agripreneurs on implementation of agricultural programmes. The study was carried out in extra-county, county and sub-county category of secondary schools offering agriculture subject and, spread in five agro-ecological zones typical of Kenyan farm types, and found in Kisii and Nyamira counties region. Cross-sectional survey design was used. School youth are secondary school form fours taking the subject and implementing KCSE agriculture project. Stratified, purposive, and simple random sampling procedures were used to select a sample of 361 school youth. Data was collected using questionnaires, analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics at probability level of 0.05 using SPSS version 21. Results show that school youth are well exposed to showcasing success stories by young agripreneurs for acquiring more and specialized implementation skills. It also confirms that gender of youth in school does not make a significant difference in the level of participation in decision making during showcasing events by young agripreneurs. School youth rated five of the six strategies evaluated as very important, and identified some amongst them as more significantly very important than the rest in increasing their participation during showcasing by young agripreneurs. There is a positive significant and linear correlation between level of participation in decision making during showcasing of success stories by young agripreneurs and level of implementation of agricultural programmes by school youth (R= 0.30, p = 0.00), p = 0.00). These findings will be useful in addressing issues of school youth participation in decision making during showcasing by young agripreneurs to motivate others implement agricultural programmes for self reliance

The Planet in 2050

In 2050, the billions of people living on Earth have found a way to manage the planetary system effectively. Everyone has access to adequate food, shelter, and clean water. Human health is no longer considered outside of the health of the ecosystems in which people live. Ecological awareness is an integral part of education. People respond effectively to social and environmental hazards, and societies care for the most vulnerable amongst them. The economy, too, has shifted. Carbon dioxide management is under control, and energy efficiency is the norm. The remaining rainforests have been preserved. Coral reefs are recovering. Fish stocks are thriving. Is any of this really possible? How can our complex social and economic systems interact with a complex planetary system undergoing rapid change to create a future we all want? This book is a contextualised collation of ideas articulated by the 50 participants of the Planet 2050 workshop held in Lund in October 2008, as part of The Planet in 2050, an interdisciplinary Fast Track Initiative of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Participants were selected from academia and the sustainability practice community to give a wide-ranging, multi-cultural, trans-disciplinary set of perspectives. This collection explores four broad sectoral themes: energy and technologies; development, economies and culture; environment; and land use change. By doing so, this book emphasises the importance of a social dialogue on our collective future, and our responsibility to the Earth. It makes strong statements about what needs to happen to the global economy for a sustainable future and documents a new kind of scholarly discussion, engaging people from diverse knowledge communities in a spirit of exploration and reflexivity. The book provides a focus for dialogue and further study for postgraduates and researchers interested in global change as a multi-faceted, socio-environmental phenomenon, and as the book is written in an accessible scholarly style, assuming no prior specialist knowledge, it is also suitable for those involved in sustainability initiatives and polic