DOI: 10.36347/sjavs.2018.v05i03.003

Pages: 141-147

This study examined the factors influencing the choice of career in agriculture among senior secondary school students in Ilorin Metropolis. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select 90 respondents for the study. Descriptive statistics and simple regression analysis were used to analyze data and present results for the study. The mean age of respondents was 16.8 years. Findings of the study indicated that students have a negative perception about agriculture with most (38.1%) of the respondents perceiving agriculture as a poor man’s job. Also, majority of the students were not aware of the existence of many Agricultural Programs/Organizations and career opportunities in Agriculture. There is a significant positive relationship between age, gender, favorite academic subjects and level of awareness of agricultural programs. The study concludes that students have a negative perception about agriculture. Thus, it is recommended that agriculture be made compulsory at the primary and secondary levels, to inculcate the importance of the profession, and the culture of farming in students. Also, scholarships should be awarded to students who indicate interest in pursuing agricultural profession in tertiary institutions in order to encourage more students to pursue a career in agriculture.