Agricultural students’ perception of participation in agrotourism in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

The benefits inherent in agrotourism as a tool for sustainable agricultural development have not been fully exploited in Nigeria. Therefore, this study ascertained the perception of agricultural students to participate in agrotourism. Students' perceptions of agrotourism and the relationship between their personal characteristics and their perceptions were examined. A two stage sampling procedure was used to select 217 respondents for the study. Data was obtained through the use of a well structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and the Chi square test. Results showed that 38.8% of the students were male, while 61.3% were female, with an average age of 22.3 years. The students showed a positive perception (x̄= 3.8) of agrotourism. The constraints to participation in agrotourism, in order of severity, were financial cost, insecurity, bad roads, non inclusion of agrotourism as part of the academic curriculum, and the low number of agrotourism sites. Students' sex (χ² 46.297; p = 0.005), age (χ² 179.837; p = 0.000), exposure to agriculture (χ² 103.224; p = 0.000), and parents' occupation (χ² 89.030; p = 0.002) had a significant relationship with their perception of agrotourism. The study concluded that students had a high level of willingness and a positive perception of agrotourism. The study, therefore, recommends the inclusion of agrotourism in the curriculum of undergraduate students, subsidise the cost of visiting agrotourism sites, and also ensure the safety of students during visits, which could serve as incentives to students' participation.