Abstract:
This study focused on the factors influencing students’ choice to study agricultural science in Nigerian Universities with South-South geopolitical zone as a case study. The study collected and analyzed the opinion of undergraduate students in order to understand the influencing factors. Three research questions guided this study and the study adopted the survey research design. Student’s questionnaire was administered to the sample to obtain their opinion. Findings revealed that government and societal poor view of agriculture in the country is an inhibiting factor to the increase in the number of students opting to study the course at the university level while the presence of other payable jobs in the zone is discouraging the youths from engaging in agricultural profession as a means of livelihood. The finding of this research is useful in understanding and addressing the youths’ behavior towards agriculture in the South-South Nigeria especially now that the country is refocusing her economy and agriculture remains her highest contributor to gross domestic product (GDP) . In the light of the findings recommendations were made, such as the introduction of Agricultural Students Scholarship Fund (ASSF) to attract and encourage young school leavers into the profession.
