ISSN 2348-31ϱϲ (Print) International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research ISSN 2348-31ϲϰ ;onlineͿ Vol. 4, Issue 2, pp: (524-532), Month: April - June 2016, Available at: www.researchpublish.com Page | 524 Research Publish Journals The Gendered Challenges Faced by Rural Nigerian Adolescents (15 to17 years) in Agriculture and Vocational Education Chinedu.T. Obi 1 , Tamika A. Peart 2 1 Erasmus Mundus Scholar, IMRD, UGENT, Belgium 2 PhD Student COHD, China Abstract: The global gender discourse has placed more emphasis on women empowerment. However, when issues concerning adolescents are raised, both boys and girls should be integrated. This is because the same power that patriarchy is believed to have given men, hurts men as well, especially adolescent boys. In rural Nigeria, adolescents between the ages of 15 to 17 years have faced many challenges that prevent them from taking up agricultural employment and agricultural vocational education. This review shows that adolescent girls get less education than boys due to early marriage, and are less likely to visit farms due to the insurgency. On the other hand, the drudgery that is associated with agriculture and the passion for an urban life have made adolescent boys more likely to migrate to the urban areas, thus, placing vocational agricultural education as a fallback option for them. The study also reveals that unemployed youths can engage in socially unacceptable behavior. Fortunately, the youth empowerment programs available in the country provide opportunities for the government to include them in economic activities. It is therefore recommended that the government should recognize this age group as an economic member of the society, and take a strong stand against the insurgency, thus treating security as a real issue that continues to deny young women of empowerment. Nevertheless, more research is being called to find ways to mobilize adolescents for agriculture engagement. Keywords: Gender, Agriculture, Vocational Agricultural Education, Adolescent, Nigeria. 1. INTRODUCTION The debate on gender equality has lingered considerably over the past decades favoring the women. The feminists believe that women face several challenges in patriarchal societies and should be given more recognition, as they suffer various domestic and social violence such as rape, physical attack, marginalization in decision-making, etc., yet the society has a way of blaming them for such attacks (Verveer, 2011; Ogunlela and Mukhta, 2009). Renown scholars like Abhijit and Duflo (2011); and Todero and Smith (2012) are of the opinion that girls are less likely to get a better education when households face financial burden and need to make a decision on who goes to school. They receive fewer skills, job training, and health service when compared to their male counterparts (ICRW 2001). Amartya Sen (1990) asserted that women are perceived to have less economic value than men since parents believe that a male child is more responsible for catering for them after retirement. This implies that the girl child could likely get less medical attention than the boy and she is more likely to be aborted if the family desires fewer children. This perhaps has necessitated a global gender debate that tilts in the favor of women. Furthermore, in agriculture, studies have shown that women typically achieve lower yields than men. However, the lower yield does not share a correlation with the level of physical effort put into farming by this group since in many developing countries, women comprise the majority of small holder farmers: they serve as the backbone of the economy, they do strenuous farm work, yet they do not have equal access to resources as the men do (Verveer 2011). The difference in productivity can be associated with the difference in input use, education and extension services (Damisa and Yohanna,