Determinants of attrition in agricultural training programmes: Insights from the next generation cocoa youth programme in Ghana

Abstract

Demographic data from Ghana suggest aging population among cocoa farmers. Based on this evidence, youth participation in the cocoa sector has become a subject of interest to stakeholders including Solidaridad. This study employed both qualitative analysis and parametric regression models that addresses observed and unobserved errors, to estimate the determinants of youth attrition from cocoa training programmes; and the possible impact of attrition on youth engagement in cocoa farming in Ghana. The empirical results reveal that younger and male youth, the unmarried, persons without mobile phone, youth who do not participate in community development initiatives, and youth without leadership roles have a higher propensity of attrition from agricultural training programmes. Attrition was also found to be significantly driven by youth not having savings, non-business ownership, and having higher formal education. There is therefore the need for various stakeholders including COCOBOD in Ghana, to employ various mechanisms aimed at encouraging the youth to save. This could be done especially through the formation of Youth Savings and Loan Associations (YSLAs) which could reduce attrition rates from training programmes. Moreover, married and female youth should be prioritised by future cocoa-training programmes, and encouraged to take up leadership roles in the communitiessince they have a lower probability of attrition from training programmes.