Youth Participation in the Cassava Value Chain in the Upper West Akim District, Eastern Region, Ghana.

Abstract

The study’s main objective is to assess youth’s participation in the cassava value chain in the Upper West Akim District. Specifically, to describe the activities involved in the cassava value chain, describe the perceptions of the youth toward the cassava value chain, analyze the proportion of the youth involved in the cassava value chain, and estimate the factors influencing the youth’s participation in the cassava value chain. This study employed a combination of purposive and simple random sampling methods, and 284 youth respondents between the ages of 18 and 35 years were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model. Out of the total sample size, 40 percent of the youth were into cassava production, 32.5 percent were into cassava processing, and 27.5 percent were into cassava marketing. On average, most of the youth (32%) strongly agreed to have been actively engaged in the cassava value chain activities, were interested in improving their knowledge and skills, and planned to be involved more in the chain in the future. The overall perception index of the youth toward the cassava value chain was positive. This index showed that the youth perceived the prospects of the cassava value chain as promising and were ready to explore any innovations to enhance their activities in the value chain. From the logit results, gender (4.53), primary education (2.49), marital status (2.31), perceptions (0.24), credit access (1.78), land access (3.30), and extension access (1.85) positively and significantly influenced participation in cassava production. Gender (-1.77), JHS education (0.59), credit access (0.46), and market access (0.82) significantly influenced participation in cassava processing. Gender (-1.44), household size (0.18), perceptions (0.42), and market access (2.54) significantly influenced youth participation in cassava marketing. The study recommends that modern technologies be made available and accessible to the youth to make activities along the cassava value chain easier. Promote industrialization in the district, specifically, the cassava processing factory. Intensify training of the youth on modern farming practices, value addition, and entrepreneurship. Moreover, making available and accessible to the youth improved cassava varieties, farmlands, credit, markets, and extension services to increase their participation in the cassava value chain.