Digital pathways in agriculture: Understanding the profile of rural youth in contemporary agriculture
Abstract
The present study aims to analyze the socio-economic, digital literacy, and behavioural profile of rural youth in the Waraseoni block of Balaghat district, Madhya Pradesh on the basis of literacy rate. From each selected village, 10 rural youth respondents were chosen. Data were collected from 120 respondents, who were selected via simple random sampling using a structured interview schedule. The study revealed that more than half of the respondents were educated up to graduate level and above (51.68%), while a majority belonged to the medium category in terms of annual income (79.17%), digital literacy (77.50%), information-seeking behaviour (79.17%), access to ICT (82.50%), exposure to social media (80.83%), risk orientation (60.83%), economic motivation (75%), migration behaviour (68.33%), and innovativeness (69.17%) further, most respondents had not attended digital agriculture training (73.33%). The results provide an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of rural youth, which are essential for designing interventions to enhance their engagement in agriculture.
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Introduction
Over the last few decades massive technological development and opportunities have transformed people's lives (Sahana et al., 2019) [7] . It is well known that the contribution of agriculture to the Indian economy is less than 20% and the other sectors like services and industry have marched ahead in their contribution. Industry and service sectors which contribute most to the national gross domestic product (GDP) have progressed well in the use of digital technologies, while agriculture has lagged behind. Modern food systems in India need digital technologies to take Indian agriculture to the next paradigm. Digital technologies have made inroads into developing better crop varieties, good agronomic practices, efficient animal management, agricultural finance and marketing, processing and value chain management, 'Block Chains' for traceability. Digital agriculture, generally referred to as Agriculture 4.0, is an evolution of precision agriculture and is set to create a new paradigm in India in the complete food systems cycle. It refers to use of internet of things (IoTs), sensors, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), satellites, and robotics (Rao, 2022) [6] . A National Youth Policy, 2014 modified the previous National Youth Policy 2003 and defined 'youth' as a person in the age group of 15-29 years (Khan et al., 2023) [4] . Youth play a vital role in the successful transformation of agricultural sector in India. Youth will be interested in taking the agriculture as a profession only if agriculture becomes both economically and intellectually attractive. The rural population is about 70%, and the indications are that the migration of rural youth to cities is around 45% in the country, which is quite alarming (Chander, 2013) [3] . Attracting and retaining youth in agriculture is critical for Indian Agriculture (Pulla and Nisha, 2024) [5] .
Digital agriculture could promote greater inclusion of youth
Digitalization is rapidly transforming economies around the world and youth are greatly influenced by digital solutions and services. Digitalization is set to influence the way agrifood systems operate. However, the digital transformation process is uneven in geographic and socioeconomic terms, and in many areas, youth have restricted access to information and communications technologies (ICTs), including smart phones and the internet. In order to correct the disparities and help youth, there is an urgent need to improve access to and knowledge of digital innovations. To address this, at the launch of a digital skills programme, the then FAO Representative for Rwanda, Gualbert Gbehounou, said, -Youth like innovations, new ways of doing things, using electronic gadgets, interacting online. Actually, they like a business that keeps them connected. We need to make sure that we introduce all the www.extensionjournal.com digital approaches they prefer along the food chain, from farm to table Anonymous, (2025) [1] .
Methodology
The Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh was purposively selected for the study due to its higher literacy rate (77.09%) compared to the state average of 69.32% (Census of India, 2011) [2] . The district comprises 10 blocks out of which Waraseoni block was selected using the lottery method of simple random sampling. According to Census 2011, Waraseoni block consists of 78 villages, from which 15% (12 villages) were selected through the lottery method to ensure a representative sample (Census of India, 2011) [2] .
From each selected village, 10 rural youth respondents were chosen randomly, constituting a total sample size of 120 respondents. Primary data were collected using a semistructured interview schedule prepared in accordance with the study objectives. Secondary data were collected from research articles, books, government reports, policy documents, and authenticated websites. The data were analyzed using frequency, Percentage, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, Pearson's coefficient of correlation, and regression analysis to ensure accurate interpretation of the study findings. Low innovativeness (<20.2) 17 14.17 2.
Results and Discussion
Medium innovativeness (20.2-25.4) 83 69.17 3.
High innovativeness (>25.4) 20 16.66
References
- Anonymous. Creating opportunities for youth and women with digital agriculture/technology and innovation/resources/stories. 2025.
- Census of India. Waraseoni tehsil, Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh. Census of India 2011.
- Chander M. Youth: Potential target for agricultural extension. AESA Blog. 2013;10.
- Khan S, Peer QJA, Khuroo B, Farhein H. Rural youth in agriculture. Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu. 2023:83-98.
- Pulla S, Nisha PR. Initiatives to attract and retain youth in farming. Biological Forum -An International Journal. 2024;16(6):143-147.
- Rao EP. Digital agriculture -A future disruption in India. Indian Journal of Fertilisers. 2022;18(4):334-342.
- Sahana S, Narendra VN, Chaithrashree J. Digital agriculture. Bulletin of Environment, Pharmacology and Life Sciences. 2019;8(6):164-170.
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