The Effectiveness of the Mechanisms Adopted by Developmental Stakeholders for Disadvantaged Youth Transformation in Liberia

ABSTRACT: Liberia's post-conflict youth face unemployment, educational deficits, and exclusion despite government, NGO, and faith-based empowerment mechanisms with unexamined effectiveness. This study examined the perceived effectiveness of mechanisms implemented by development stakeholders for youth transformation through agricultural entrepreneurship. A quantitative cross-sectional survey of 391 disadvantaged youth across Liberia’s 15 counties employed stratified proportional and simple random sampling. Mechanisms were rated on six-point effectiveness scale and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, multiple regression, one-way ANOVA, post-hoc tests, and exploratory factor analysis. NGO mechanisms recorded the highest per-item mean (1.893, SD = 0.240), narrowly above government (1.769, SD = 0.348) and substantially above faith-based (1.464, SD = 0.276), with ANOVA confirming significant inter-group differences [F(2, 1170) = 171.62, p < .001]. Regression shows that government mechanism (β = −0.279, p < .001) and market access innovation (β = −0.894, p < .001) were significantly negatively associated with youth transformation index, whereas alternative financing was significantly positively associated with it (β = 0.135, p < .05; R² = 0.106). Rural youth reported higher transformation scores than peri-urban peers [F(2, 388) = 4.548, p = .011]. Findings revealed systemic gap between existing mechanisms and youth needs, highlighting integrated finance- and market-linked agricultural entrepreneurship for youth transformation. KEYWORDS: agricultural entrepreneurship, disadvantaged youth, developmental stakeholders, empowerment mechanisms, youth transformation