Attitudinal Changes Towards Agriculture Through the Generational Lens and Impact on Engagement in Related Activities: Case Study From a Mountainous Area

Synopsis

Agriculture is the mainstay of most rural economies in the Global South. In the face of rising youth unemployment and food insecurity, several countries have foregrounded agriculture as a critical lever in safeguarding vulnerable communities and the bricolage of related rural livelihoods. The elderly are reservoirs of the indigenous knowledge unlike the youth who are more knowledgeable about novel approaches. This necessitates an inter-generational cross-pollination of knowledge and experiences to engender communities of practice that will develop the agricultural value chain. However, there are conflicting perspectives on the importance of agriculture between the youth and the older generation which is evidenced by the comparatively fewer youth involved in agriculture and their comments on the significance of human civilisation’s oldest and vintage activities. The study uses qualitative methods involving 183 household-heads and 11 key informants to study the divergent perceptions and changing attitudes towards agriculture in the erstwhile KaNgwana Homeland. Results indicate a stark contrast across generations on the importance of agriculture in the study area.

The elderly regard the soil as the basis of all things as everything emanates from it and hence has to be given prime importance. However the youth regard agriculture as old fashioned and a job for the older folks. The youth suggest that in the apartheid time people were restricted as per job opportunities and thus were forced into agriculture. The chapter engages with the individual stories and dominant narratives on the subject. The study contributes to the debate on harnessing the demographic dividend for sustainable agriculture and rural development especially in mountain areas.