Many countries have earmarked youth participation as a contributor to reducing the unemployment experienced by youth. Despite the promise identified and shown by the agricultural sector, youth participation remains low and has been explained by low perceptions, aspirations and interest from youth. With this research, we aim to establish whether the youth in rural South Africa have negative perceptions, aspirations, and low interest towards participating in the agricultural sector. The research was conducted in the rural areas of the Free State province, South Africa, by interviewing 233 youth and analysing their responses with descriptive statistics. The results show that the rural youth have positive perceptions and aspirations towards the agricultural sector; however, despite these positive indicators, fewer youth are interested in participating. It was also found that most youth not currently involved are interested in being involved in the sector, while the opposite was found for those currently involved. Interest towards participation should thus be a key indicator for development strategies to involve youth in the sector.
