Journal of Agricultural Science; Vol. 7, No. 7; 2015 ISSN 1916-9752 E-ISSN 1916-9760 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 42 Characterization of Youth Agricultural Projects in Limpopo Province of South Africa Lebohang M. Maele 1 , Azwihangwisi E. Nesamvuni 2 , Khathutshelo A. Tshikolomo 3 , David B. Afful 1 & David Norris 4 1 Centre for Rural Community Empowerment, University of Limpopo, South Africa 2 Office of the Registrar, University of Venda, South Africa 3 Limpopo Department of Agriculture, South Africa 4 School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Limpopo, South Africa Correspondence: Khathutshelo A. Tshikolomo, Limpopo Department of Agriculture, Private Bag X9487, Polokwane, South Africa. Tel: 27-(0)-15-294-3350. Email: tshikolomo@gmail.com Received: March 25, 2015 Accepted: April 23, 2015 Online Published: June 15, 2015 doi:10.5539/jas.v7n7p42 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jas.v7n7p42 Abstract The sustainability of agriculture is dependent on the characterization of project participants. The study investigated selected characteristics of participants in youth agriculture projects and constraints faced and proposed strategies for increased project productivity. Three in four (74%) of the projects were male owned and half (50%) of the owners only had primary education. As for project members, 53.8% were females with 59.3% of them in mixed vegetable and field crop projects. The project members were youthful with 84.4% aged 18-35 (25.3% were 18-25 years old, 25.3% were 26-30 and 33.8% were 31-35). Four in five (78.2%) project members were permanently employed. The projects had constraints that reduced their productivity, and those were mainly: (1) weak relationships with other stakeholders resulting in limited access to information, (2) lack of access to funding, and (3) poor land tenure. To improve productivity: (a) youth projects should be encouraged to form (or be part of) cooperatives, (b) initiatives such as NYDA and Mafisa should be strengthened to be more effective in servicing the youth projects, and (c) traditional authorities should establish committees with clear mandate and guidelines for improved land allocation. Strategies to improve productivity of youth projects should consider the described characteristics of participants in terms of gender, age, education and employment status. Keywords: characterization, youths, agricultural projects, Limpopo Province, constraints 1. Introduction Though agriculture has been identified as one of the pillars for economic development for most developing countries; youth participation in the sector is still a great challenge. Agriculture continues to be a significant employer in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The agricultural sector has the potential to contribute towards alleviation of poverty in rural areas of the province. According to Office of the Premier [OTP] (2009), agriculture remains a key strategic driver for economic growth and rural development and is a major absorbent of labour. Russell (2001) indicated that the involvement of youths in agricultural production has declined in recent years, especially in rural areas. The poor involvement of youths in agriculture could largely be due to negative perceptions towards the sector. Agriculture is seen as either a dirty job, a poor man’s job or a non-income generating job. Observations are that these negative perceptions held by youths towards agriculture tend to lead to a problem of lack of succession. Cook (1996) argued that the future of agriculture may be bleak if production was left in the hands of aged subsistence farmers. There is therefore an urgent need for the agricultural sector to attract youths. According to the World Bank Report (2007), youth participation in the agricultural sector has the potential to promote the implementation of new technologies. The implementation of new technologies leads to an increase in agricultural production and this is enhanced by the youths’ ability to understand and use the technologies as compared to their aged counterparts. This study was done with the purpose of characterizing participants in youth agricultural projects and subsequently proposing strategies for increasing their productivity.