Introduction 

South Africa is a democratic state yet a country ravaged by a myriad of social ills, i.e. youth poverty, graduate unemployment, and so forth that make the realization of youth development unrealistic. In a country riddled with and engulfed by the alarming percentage of graduate unemployment, agriculture has become the only livelihood strategy for some young unemployed graduates in rural areas. The term ‘agriculture’ refers to the use of land to grow crops, such as cabbages, maize, tomatoes, onions and green peppers, for livelihood and both commercial and subsistence motives. 

Factors that drive unemployed young graduates into agriculture

Due to poor, low-income family grounds and lack of family backup for many of the unemployed university graduates in rural areas, and because arable and fertile land is abundant in rural areas, and farming is the less expensive business to venture into, some of the unemployed young graduates tend to consider farming to be their weapon against poverty and their state of unemployability and the issue of graduate unemployment at large. 

Despite the remarkable strides that rural youth make towards changing the status quo and situation in their respective families and communities through taking education seriously and pursuing their careers at higher universities and colleges, however, it seems that the country is unable to create enough jobs for these young graduates once they have completed their studies. Thus, this puts these young graduates in a poverty trap regardless of their educational achievements. 

Challenges faced by young unemployed graduates in rural areas

After graduation, the unemployment state forces these graduates to return to their urban areas and remain poor with their qualifications. Consequently, graduates with no employment make them victims of poverty and mockery in their communities, especially and usually ridiculed by their peers who have made it in life without a university qualification. 

Although a small percentage of young unemployed graduates have realised that agriculture is what is available for them to fight poverty during their state of unemployment, it is worth mentioning that the other portion of unemployed graduates is still ashamed of being farmers in a space surrounded by the majority of uneducated people. 

Muzi Ngcamphalala, a young farmer and university graduate from UKZN, stated that one of the reasons why some of the young unemployed graduates are still ashamed of venturing into farming even if they see and know that there is money in agriculture is primarily because our higher education system does not encourage young graduates to think broadly about life challenges after their university studies and the use of land for livelihood during their state of unemployment. 

Although the local municipalities do provide support in terms of giving seeds, the support and distribution system is sometimes politicized such a way that most seed grains other and resources ar poor low-income low-income only allocated and offered to experienced people, thus ignoring and failing to recognize and support the youth, and unemployed graduates in particular, who also have an interest in agriculture. 

Positive impacts of agriculture for unemployed graduates

Through agriculture, poverty among young unemployed graduates can be alleviated. Although being a farmer is still relegated to inferior job status and is often perceived as associated with less educated people, it provides the main primary source of income and access to food for some young unemployed graduates. The young unemployed graduates who are farmers also create jobs for others. 

Conclusion

To reduce poverty among unemployed graduates, agriculture is the most potent and available weapon that many unemployed graduates should consider. Government and higher education institutions have a role in ensuring that agriculture is professionalized so that young unemployed graduates do not feel ashamed about venturing into farming during unemployment. This can include providing adequate support for young unemployed graduates to get into agriculture.