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Social Media, Youths and Agricultural Development in the Niger Delta

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Social Media, Youths and Agricultural Development in the Niger Delta Social media, Youths and Agricultural Development 27 Social media, Youths and Agricultural Development in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria Guanah, Seigha Jammy Obi, Ijeoma, Egbra, Omedomero Stella & Akumabor, Ngozi Theodora Abstract The entrance of the social media to the communication world has eased and increased interaction among people, and this is influencing the way agricultutre is practised worldwide. Agriculture is core in the economic growth of any nation because of the inevitability of its potentials while the youths are the efficient workforce of every nation. This study, therefore, highlighted the advantages of agriculture, and emphasised that the social media, as important new tools for agriculture, are the most effective means to engage the youth in agricultural pursuits. The study was carried out through analytical approach. It is anchored on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory. It recommended, among others, that youth agriculturalists in Nigeria must tap the benefits of the social media in order to change the face of agricultural practice in the country, and avoid being left out of global trends; that youths should constantly use the social media to collect ideas and share knowledge on various farming technique globally, and reach out for opinions; agriculture should be made more attractive by establishing “farm villages” with basic amenities where youths can reside and concentrate on agriculture; that long term low- interest loans be given to youths who embrace agriculture as a profession, and that government must put in place training programs, awareness campaigns, and workshops to help youths understand how to use social media better in their agricultural activities. The paper concluded that the Nigerian youths are the pillars required for agricultural development in Nigeria. Keywords: Agriculture, Facebook, Mass media, Social media, Twitter, Youths. Introduction Nigeria`s over-dependence on oil revenue has had a lot of negative effects on the agricultural sector, which had been a key source of revenue before independence. Nigeria`s foreign earning is not only dwindling, there is food shortage in the country and a lot of persons, especially the youths are jobless. The only way out of Nigeria’s economic challenges which have regularly impacted on the lives of the citizens and activities in all facets of life is for Nigeria’s economy to be diversified to agriculture. A former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that Nigeria cannot make it until the nation takes agriculture and its value chains seriously. He said that agriculture had the capacity to develop entrepreneurs and create millions of employment for Nigerian youths. Awoyinfa (2017) quotes Obasanjo as saying, “the truth is this, if we are going to have employment for millions of youths in this country, it will be mainly in agriculture business not in oil and energy.” International Journal of Communication: an Interdisciplinary Journal of Communication Studies, 22, September, 2017. Published by the Communication Studies Forum, Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka Social media, Youths and Agricultural Development 28 The youths can be the main drivers of agricultural development if they are given all the support they would need because they are technologically savvy and better positioned to do so, especially through the social media. President Muhammadu Buhari recognises the fact that the youths are the catalysts for Nigeria`s growth when he said that Nigeria has always been identified as a country with great potentials for growth, especially with our youthful population, but now we are moving beyond the potentials to reality (Taiwo-Obalonye, 2016). Hence, the President of Nigeria`s Senate, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, suggested that fruitful engagement of the teeming youths in the country will increase the nation’s productive capacity and at the same time, negotiating an end to the present economic recession. Stargist (2016, p.1) quotes Saraki as saying that, “the country urgently needs to unleash the energy and creative capacity of the youth to ensure that we produce goods and services for local consumption and exports.” The youth, for statistical purposes, is defined by United Nations (UN) as those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years, without prejudice to other definitions by member states. This definition was made during preparations for the International Youth Year 1985, and endorsed by the General Assembly (A/36/215 and resolution 36/28, 1981). All United Nations statistics on youths are based on this definition, as illustrated by the annual yearbooks of statistics published by the United Nations system on demography, education, employment and health (UNESCO, 1985). However, the definition of youth does vary from country to country, depending on the specific socio-cultural, institutional, economic and political factors, hence the Nigerian National Youth Policy (2009) defines a youth as a person between the ages of 18 years and 35 years. Youths are up to 17.6 percent of the global population. According to United Nations-UN- (2013) reports, developing countries account for majority; 87% of the youth worldwide live in dev eloping countries, and 62% of this number lives in Asia. Premium Times (2016) cites Reuters and News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) as crediting the United Nations (UN) to have estimated that the number of youths globally will rise to 2 billion by 2060 from 1.8 billion in 2015, with most of that growth expected to in sub-Saharan Africa. As at today 63% of Nigeria`s population is under the age of 25 (Kawu, 2014); although, according to the UN, more than 70 per cent of Nigerian population are under 35years (Ibekwe, 2016). This accentuates the reason the youths who are regarded as leaders of tomorrow need to be allowed to take responsibility in all ramifications, especially in the championing of agricultural development in Nigeria. Agriculture is important to the economic development of any nation because of the numerous advantages that come with its development, apart from the fact that it provides food security for a nation like Nigeria (Nwabueze, 2007). When there is food self-sufficiency the nation will be able to feed its citizens, and billions of dollars spent on importing food can now be channelled to other productive areas. Agriculture provides employment for a lot of people. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), between May 2015, when President Muhammadu Buhari took office, and August 30, 2016 the total freshly unemployed persons in Nigeria`s economy rose to a record high of 4,580,602 (Awala, 2016). Agriculture likewise provides raw materials for industries which results into industrial development; foreign exchange earnings for the nation from plantation crops, such as cocoa, coffee, rubber, cashew and other International Journal of Communication: an Interdisciplinary Journal of Communication Studies, 22, September, 2017. Published by the Communication Studies Forum, Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka Social media, Youths and Agricultural Development 29 crops; and markets for products of the industrial sector such as fertilizers, farm inputs, storage facilities and many others. The Niger Delta Region of Nigeria is an area to focus on because the indigenes are not benefitting directly from the oil being prospected in their region. The Niger-Delta region concerned in this work is the area limited by the tributaries of river Niger. The area is bounded in the north by Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Kogi and Ekiti states, with the Atlantic coast forming the general boundary in the south. The Niger Delta comprises about 1,600 communities in nine states, namely, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers, with more than 20 million people. The Niger Delta is a geographical area measuring about 70,000 square kilometers; it lies in the southern-most part of Nigeria, stretching from the Nigeria-Cameroun boundary in the east to the Ondo-Ogun states boundary in the west Ekpo (2004). The region is well endowed with abundant agricultural resources that includes crops (arable, vegetable, ornamentals and tree crops); fishery (fin & shell fish in fresh, brackish & salt water); forestry resources (Mangrove Swamp Forest, Timber and Wild life), and rich mineral deposits and human resources. If the youths of this region are given the wherewithal needed they can contribute immensely to the growth of agriculture. However, for the nation as a whole to enjoy the benefits of agriculture the youths have to be effectively mobilized through communication which “is an important resource to any social organization…” (Oso, 2002, p.198); for getting relevant information or messages to farmers will not only create awareness but also foster in them the right kind of attitude change through knowledge acquisition (Gans, 2003). And communication with and among youths can be enhanced through the social media. However the apparatus and styles of communication keep changing, hence Odili (2013, p.161) declares that, “This generational dynamism in communication tools and system has resulted in outstanding evolution of a collaborative, participatory, democratic user generated- content pattern of communication”. The social media are also changing the way people get to know about agriculture and forms opinions about participation in agriculture and food production. The social media remain as useful tools in the hands of youths in promoting successful agricultural activities in any part of the world. Statement of the problem Youth unemployment in Nigeria is very high, and there is hunger in the land, especially in the Niger Delta region. This is causing most of the youths to be restive, and this can lead to possible youth explosion out of restiveness and anger. But youths can be profitably engaged in sustainable activities along the agriculture value chain by training and employing them. Training can be done via the Social media because they can make it possible for Agriculture trainers, no matter where they are located, to reach the trainees through various social media platforms.
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