Accounting for Heterogeneity among Youth: A Missing Link in Enhancing Youth Participation in Agriculture—A South African Case Study

Abstract

Youth participation in the agricultural sector remains key to addressing youth unemployment. Young people represent a heterogeneous social group with markedly diverse social and economic needs that require tailor-made support interventions to enhance their participation in agricultural activities. The main objective of this article was to develop distinct youth typologies informed by diverse endowment of livelihood assets, including the psychological assets and entrepreneurial characteristics that shape young people’s career and livelihood choices, including participation in agriculture. A two-stage multivariate analytical approach was applied using principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) to formulate youth typologies. Seven clusters were identified. The seven distinct clusters representing youth typologies were named “Training beneficiaries with access to extension”, “Job secure”, “Females endowed with negative psychological capital”, “Opportunist and determined livestock farmers”, “Social grant reliant”, “Resource poor traditional livestock farmers” and “Non-farming income with access to credit”. The results confirm that young people are indeed a heterogeneous group with diverse support needs. Unpacking the interrelated and multidimensional complexities among the youth is a vital take-off point to inform effective policy and tailor-made support interventions and effectively foster active youth participation in agriculture and related activities. We argue that support initiatives should not only address access to physical resources, but should also foster the development of soft skills such as entrepreneurial skills and boosting the psychological capital of young people while addressing gender inequalities.