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Impact of Climate-Smart Agricultural Education on Youth Livelihood in Bayelsa Riverine Communities

Panebi Ugo

Abstract

This study evaluated the impact of climate-smart agricultural education on youth livelihoods across riverine communities in Bayelsa State. Guided by three research questions and three null hypotheses, the author adopted a mixed-method design integrating a cross-sectional descriptive survey with a quasi-experimental field trial. The target population consisted of active farming youths within Ekeremor and Southern Ijaw Local Government Areas. From this frame, the Taro Yamane formula determined a descriptive survey sample of 195 youths, while a nested cohort of 60 youths was purposively selected and split evenly into experimental and control groups (n=30 each) for experimental tracking. Data collection relied on the verified Youth Climate-Smart Agriculture and Livelihood Questionnaire and the objective Climate-Smart Agriculture Competency Assessment Test. Descriptive questions were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, whereas the null hypotheses were tested via Analysis of Covariance at a 0.05 level of significance. The empirical findings demonstrated that targeted education in flood- resilient crop production, advanced fish farming, and aquaponics significantly boosted practical vocational competencies, prompting the rejection of all three null hypotheses. The study concluded that institutionalized climate-smart agricultural training enhances economic resilience and promotes livelihood diversification in ecological flood zones, recommending that relevant state agencies provide financial tools, specialized equipment, and demonstration hubs for trained cohorts

Keywords

Climate-smart agricultural educationyouth livelihoodriverine communities

References

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