Contribution of Home Farming on Academic Performance and Career Preferences among Senior High Agriculture Science Students in Sagnarigu Municipal in the Northern Region of Ghana

Subject Areas : Agricultural Education

Afishata Mohammed Abujaja ^{1 *} , Ibrahim Muhammad Gadafi ² , Saidatu Zakaria ³

1 - Agriculture, Food and Consumer Sciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
2 - Agriculture, Food and Consumer Science, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana
3 - Agriculture, Food and Consumer Science, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

Received: 2024-11-15 Accepted : 2025-03-01 Published : 2025-03-30

Keywords: Academic Performance, Career Preference, Home Farming, Sagnerigu,

Abstract :

This research examines home farming experiences of Senior High School students and how that influences their academic achievements and career decisions. A cross-sectional survey was adopted for the study. A total of Two Hundred and Fifty-nine students were randomly sampled. A questionnaire and checklist were used for the data collection. Data was analysed using Chi-square tests and logistic regression to establish the significant relationship between home farming and students' decision to study agriculture, academic performance, and career preferences. Access to education was sex-dependent with males having more (66.8%) access. A majority (63.7%) of the respondents grew up in rural areas. A majority of respondents engaged in home farming. Students' Parents’ occupations significantly influenced their involvement in home farming. Greater proportion (90.3%) of the students deliberately choice to study Agriculture at the SHS level. Engagement in home farming has a significant effect on student’s decision to study Agriculture Science, thus rejecting the null hypothesis (H0₁). This suggests that home farming has a strong, positive influence on the decision to study Agriculture. Students who did not engage in home farming are about 7.4 times more likely to be undecided about their future careers in Agriculture. Home farming did not significantly influence the actual academic performance of respondents.  It was therefore concluded that students who engaged in home farming were more likely to choose Agriculture Science as a course of study. The study then recommends that early exposure to home farming should be encouraged at the basic education level.