Training needs of rural youth for agricultural development: evidence from district Sargodha, Pakistan

The Government of Pakistan is trying to make youth productive in the light of the goals for sustainable development. This study explored the needs of rural youth in Sargodha district of Punjab, Pakistan. A sample of 450 rural youth was interviewed using an interview schedule and a multistage sampling technique. Above 40% of rural youth possess 10 years of schooling and 75% of rural youth is directly associated with agriculture. Rural youth regarded services and campaigns of the private sector more valuable than the public sector. Rural youth public extension offices were rated inefficient in comparison to 'fellow farmers' (94%) and 'marketing agents' (80%). Their participation in agricultural related societies is also ignorable. A kind of thrust was found among the rural youth for training about `crop protection' and `capacity building'. Therefore, it is suggested that there should be a holistic training plan for rural youth to make the agriculture sector sustainable.