Authors : O.A. Akinsorotan , G.B. Adesiji , I. Ogunlade and A.O. Opabo
Abstract: The importance of youth succeeding the aged farming populace cannot be over emphasized. This succession depends largely on the youths� perception about agricultural knowledge and exposure to agricultural practices. It was for these reasons that Oyo State Government initiated Schools Agricultural Programme in various secondary schools in the state. Therefore, this study set out to investigate effect of School Agricultural Programme of Oyo State (SAPOS) on career choice of secondary school students in the study area. Ninety-Eight respondents out 816 students were randomly selected from 4 schools that were purposely selected out of 26 in Ibadan South West Local Government Area of Oyo State, using multi-stage sampl0oing technique. Primary data was collected through the use of structured pre-tested questionnaire and then analyzed. Variables obtained in the questionnaire include; respondents personal characteristics, parent�s primary occupation, students exposure to farming activities, performance in JSS III Agricultural Science Examination, Level of particip0ation in SAPOS and their perception about the activities of SAPOS .The study revealed that 43.9% of the respondents were males and 56.1% were female it was also shown that most of the respondents (93.9%) were 15 years and above. It was discovered that majority of respondents� parent (90.8% of father and 88.8% of mothers) occupation were non farming occupation while only a few (9.3% of fathers and 11.2% of mothers) were involved in farming occupation. From the study, it was observed that more than half of the respondents (52.1%) ranked "No interest in anything dealing with agriculture" first, investing in agricultural stocks came second (40.8%) while to engage mainly in agricultural career (37.7%) and running a small farm along major career (43.9%) were ranked third and fourth, respectively. There was no significant difference among performance of respondents in the selected secondary schools. Also, there was no significant relationship between selected personal characteristics of respondents and their performance in JSSIII Agricultural Science Examination. Recommendation from the study include; expansion of SAPOS activities, provision of effective agricultural instructors, release of adequate capital support by the government and making SAPOS activities more interesting through provision of incentives.
O.A. Akinsorotan , G.B. Adesiji , I. Ogunlade and A.O. Opabo , 2007. Effect of School Agricultural Programme of Oyo State on Career Choice of School Students in Ibadan South West Local Government Area Of Oyo State, Nigeria . Agricultural Journal, 2: 667-671.