ATTITUDES OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE TOWARDS AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, MINNA NIGER SYATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Agriculture is the backbone of Nigerians economy. The agriculture is yeaning for the replacement of aged farmers with that will be more ventures farm practice and adapt better farm practices. The study therefore examines the attitude of undergraduate students of Federal University of Technology Minna, Niger state Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to 133 students. Primary data were used for this study and data collected using a questionnaire (Goggle form) and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Study revealed that the majority (54.14%) of the students were within the age range of 20-25 years, 55.63% were female while 81.04% were single. Distribution by parent occupation shows that 22.56% had farming as their primary occupation, 73.68% had their childhood in the city while 51.87% of the students have farming experience of 1-5 years. The level of involvement of students shows that poultry farming had the highest mean score of 2.51 and ranked 1st . the reasons for the student’s participation of agricultural activities indicates that majority (96.24%) of the students were involved in farming because its ensures food security. More so, results of Probit model shows that age, parents’ occupation, marital status and years of farming experience affects students’ attitudes towards agriculture. Risk associated with agriculture was one of the major constraint students face. The study recommends that female gender should be encouraged and given full support to practice agriculture, also students on campus should be sensitized on the opportunities in agricultural sectors.