Comparing factors influencing involvement in agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood activities: Evidence from rural youth in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, India

Many rural youth are faced with difficulty of maintaining livelihood and consequently, poverty remains pervasive among them. Therefore improved livelihood is directly related to poverty reduction. The paper compared factors influencing involvement in agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood activities among rural youth in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, India. Multi stage random sampling was used to collect data from 247 respondents. Majority of respondents were married, from farming households, educated up to high school, employed, from medium size families, had medium rural life preference, economic motivation, innovativeness and socio-political participation. Majority were fatalistic, conservative, had low achievement motivation and extension contact as well as high mass media exposure. Marital status, respondents’ education, employment status, fatalism-scienticism, mass media exposure and extension contact were predictors of involvement in both agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood activities. Factors like innovativeness, family size, conservatism-liberalism, socio-political participation and reasons for educational and vocational training influenced only involvement in agricultural livelihood activities while determinants of involvement in nonagricultural livelihood activities included family occupation, rural life preference, achievement motivation and economic motivation. Governmental and non-governmental organizations should take into consideration livelihood activities engaged by rural youth and their determinants when initiating and embarking on programmes aimed at addressing their needs.