Factors Influencing Youth Participation in Agricultural Co-operative Societies in the Northern Region of Burundi

The active participation of youth in Agricultural Co-operative Societies (ACS) is essential for advancing both co-operative development and socio-economic growth. However, their involvement remains low. This study assessed the factors influencing youth participation in ACS in the northern region of Burundi. Specifically, the study focuses on level of awareness among youth regarding ACS in the study area, cultivation related co-operative crops in which youth are involved, benefits associated with their participation in ACS and lastly the socio-economic factors influencing youth engagement in ACS. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design; with a sample size of 332 respondents selected from youth aged between 18 and 35 years old in the study area. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected using questionnaires, interview guides and focus group discussion guides. Data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics analysis, supported by IBM SPSS version 25 and Microsoft Excel. Results indicated low awareness level among youth regarding ACS with an average mean index of 2.23 and aligning standard deviation of 1.35. The benefits associated with youth participation in ACS encompassing both financial gains and personal development opportunities. Notably, crops like beans, vegetables, rice cultivation, maize and coffee were the most crops in which youth are involved. Socio-economic related factors namely access to market (p=0.009), access to credit (p=0.026), access to land (p=0.022), profitability (p=0.018), education level (p=0.018) and social capital (p=0.020, significantly influence youth participation in ACS. The study concludes that there is a low awareness level among youth regarding ACS, youth benefit from ACS in both financial gains and personal development opportunities. Furthermore, crops including beans, vegetables, rice cultivation, maize and coffee attract youth and lastly, the socio-economic factors including access to market, access to credit, access to land, profitability, education level and social capital have impact on youth participation in ACS. It is recommended to different stakeholders in ACS to increase awareness among youth through training forums and changing from traditional model to entrepreneurial model of co-operatives which will attract more youth. Furthermore, young people should take the initiative to form their own youth-led agricultural groups or co-operatives in order to spearhead their involvement in ACS