Amid the increasing people abandonment of careers in agriculture in the 21 centuries, and with the increasing global youth unemployment, food insecurity, and hunger. What motivates the few young people who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees and related studies in agriculture. Existing research over the years have focused on the rate of youth exiting from the agriculture sector, and the consequences they have on food availability, access, and affordability with little to no attention on the motivations of young people pursuing career in the sector (Boerngen & Rickard, 2020; Smith, 2017). This study therefore fills this knowledge gap by exploring the motivations of college students pursuing agricultural studies at college level.

Three main research questions guide the study:

How do family background and agricultural practices motivate youth to pursue agricultural programs in college?
How does participation in school activities inform youth decisions to pursue agricultural programs in college?
How do experience and present opportunities inform youths' decisions to pursue agricultural studies?

A qualitative content analysis approach was adopted by analyzing 45 video presentations by undergraduate students. MAXQDA software was used for coding the transcribe videos. Member checking was used to ensure credibility. Themes were created from the codes. The results showed that family influence through practical agriculture engagement, value for sustainability, and connections with educational institutions coupled with school activities and emerging opportunities in the agricultural sectors were the main motivating factors for college students to pursue agricultural programs. Our findings suggest the need to involve families, teachers, and community members in policies and youth agricultural program development to increase youth involvement in the sector.