Youth engagement in agriculture in developing countries is of paramount importance since much of their livelihoods depend on this sector.
This article therefore aims at assessing the influence of studying agri-entrepreneurship courses on youth farm entrepreneurial intention.
Three of the 55 Folk Development Colleges (FDCs) in Tanzania.
A cross-sectional design was employed and 300 respondents were randomly selected from three FDCs offering agricultural programmes. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analysed by using descriptive and inferential statistics in which frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviation and Somers’s D Model were employed.
The results show that there is a significant relationship between agri-entrepreneurship knowledge and skills acquired and youth entrepreneurial intentions towards farming.
The FDCs’ agri-entrepreneurial training provides knowledge and skills which influence youth farm entrepreneurial intention. However, the strength of this influence ranges from weak to moderate depending on various factors. Regular reviews of curricula to enhance the beliefs that develop a view of farm entrepreneurship as a paying business is recommended. The analysis and implication of this finding has been further explained.
The effect of agricultural education on increasing productivity and income of farmers has been widely acknowledged by scholars (Anang, Backman & Sipiläinen
Education and training have been positively associated with profitability of enterprise and ability to open up opportunities in different sectors and occupations for the youth (Haji
Following the acknowledgement of entrepreneurial education with regard to employment generation, the government of Tanzania allowed entrepreneurship courses to be taught at various levels of education as stated in the National Education Policy of 1995. Folk Development Colleges (FDCs) also began teaching entrepreneurship courses in line with the major courses as part of the enforcement of the National Education Policy. In this study the major focus is agriculture; therefore, together with entrepreneurship courses, the researcher coined the term agri-entrepreneurship.
In spite of all this, farming lags behind as the career of choice among agricultural students as noted by Redecker, Wihstutz and Mwinuka (
Agricultural graduates’ effective entrance into farm entrepreneurship in establishing farm-related enterprises presently is not feasible: parental influence, negative image of the sector and education which are seen as impeding factors for the youth to choose a career in farming (Ezeh & Juniadu
Agricultural education and training have been unresponsive to changing patterns of demands on the youth and seem to lack current skills like opportunity realisation, multi-institutional management capabilities as well as a market-driven system to prepare the youth for entrepreneurship in farming. This is shown by a growing dependence on white-collar jobs in the government and other places which are difficult to come by these days (Agwu, Nwankwo & Anyanwu
The study is guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen
A review of empirical studies that assessed the influence of agri-entrepreneurship courses produces different results as follows: Schlaegel and Koenig (
Liñán, Carlos and Jose (
Zakaria, Adam and Abujaja (
While there is a decline in numbers in youth engagement in farming-related enterprises as level of education, an increase in literacy and technical competencies has been noted in the reviewed studies (Afande
The study involved three out of 55 FDCs in Tanzania, namely: Mamtukuna (Kilimanjaro Region), Monduli (Arusha Region) and Chisale (Dodoma Region). These FDCs were selected for this study because one of their major objectives of training is to equip the learners with the knowledge and skills that would enable them to be self-employed and self-reliant based on local situations. The three colleges were selected purposively because of the similarity in the nature of the agricultural courses which were blended with an entrepreneurship course. The study population was all final-year certificate students pursuing agriculture courses.
This study employed a cross-sectional design, which was appropriate for this study because the data were collected from three colleges which are located in three different regions at one point in time. A sample size of 300 students was formed from an estimated population of 1200 from the three colleges using the formula developed by Israel (
In
Every element in the sample was selected using simple random sampling, as this procedure considers the sampling elements to have homogenous characteristics (all are final year and their courses are blended with an entrepreneurship course). The sample was drawn from FDCs’ admission records and directories. The selection of sample from each institution is shown in
Sample selection by institution.
SN | Name of Folk Development College | Final year population | Selected sample size |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Mamtukuna | 436 | 109 |
2 | Monduli | 399 | 100 |
3 | Chisalu | 365 | 91 |
The study employed questionnaires, focus group discussions and an interview guide as data collection tools. Pre-testing of questionnaires was done before being administered. The questionnaire forms were distributed to 12 respondents, equivalent to 4% of the sample size during pre-testing. A few unfamiliar terms were noted, and the researcher made adjustment to those terms by replacing them with more familiar terms. Three hundred questionnaire forms were administered and its development was guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour as retested by Liñán and Chen (
The data collected include: respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, types of courses studied, types of teaching methodology applied, existence of intention and expected learning outcomes. Six items that assess the expected learning outcomes (independent variable) were developed from the content of the courses studied and the teaching methods applied. The six items were developed under the guidance of the Damian and Wallace (
The data supporting the two objectives of this study were analysed by using descriptive non-parametric inferential statistics and content analysis. Specifically, respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, types of courses studied, types of teaching methodology applied, existence of youth farm entrepreneurial intention and perception of the expected learning outcomes were analysed by using frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations. The relationship between expected learning outcomes and youth farm entrepreneurial intentions were analysed by using Somers’ D non-parametric model.
Somers’ D of Y with respect to X is defined as:
In
Internal reliability of items for the self-administered questionnaire was measured by Cronbach’s alpha as defined by Fami (
In
To ensure that the instrument covered all the components of information, content validity was determined through reviewing previous studies in assessing the adequacy and the accuracy of what it measures. The questionnaire items that measured farm entrepreneurial intention were adopted and modified and fixed to the context from work of Liñán and Chen (
The analysis of the data shows that the mean age of the respondents was 20.6 years, the lowest being 15 years, and the highest age was 31 years with a standard deviation of 2.439. The average age falls within the age criterion definition of youth by the United Nations. It is also in line with the operational definition of youth used in this study. The distribution by sex shows that women were 11.6% more than men as shown in
Socio-demographic characteristics of respondents.
Type of variable | Sub-items in the variable | Frequency | % |
---|---|---|---|
Sex | Male | 130 | 44.2 |
Female | 164 | 55.8 | |
Total | 294 | 100.0 | |
Programme pursued | General agriculture | 73 | 24.8 |
Animal husbandry | 221 | 75.2 | |
Total | 294 | 100.0 |
Studies by Assane (
Basic farm entrepreneurial competencies studied (
Type of topic | Yes | % |
---|---|---|
Animal husbandry | 222 | 75.5 |
Crop production | 208 | 70.7 |
Agro-mechanics | 112 | 38.1 |
Agro-economics | 121 | 41.2 |
Farm management and planning | 140 | 47.6 |
Communication, negotiation and problem solving | 242 | 82.3 |
Business plan development | 226 | 76.9 |
Financial management | 171 | 58.2 |
Human resource management | 117 | 39.8 |
Innovation and opportunity recognition | 183 | 62.2 |
Theories and process of entrepreneurship | 248 | 84.4 |
Essentials of enterprise or business ownership | 255 | 86.7 |
New venture planning, creation and management | 197 | 67.0 |
Basics of computer and information technology | 241 | 82.0 |
The findings (
‘We are currently using VETA curriculum to cope with changes in the industry and it allows our students to sit for VETA exams as our curriculum doesn’t allow our students to proceed for further studies.’ (Participant 16, Ministry Director, 10 February 2016)
This was further confirmed during the interviews with FDC principals and Ministry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children officials.
On the other hand, the review shows that although the entrepreneurship course was not in the FDC curriculum, the students were taught using the VETA curriculum. Students have studied all courses that teach basic entrepreneurship knowledge and skills, except the Human Resource Management course. The Human Resource Management course is not an entrepreneurship course per se but it is important because it helps an entrepreneur to manage their employees properly during the expansion stage of an enterprise. However, it has not been critically adapted to the agricultural context as it lacks a practical facet. General implication of the score is that learners are expected to possess the right entrepreneurship competencies.
Based on these findings, the majority of the respondents have basic agricultural and entrepreneurship competencies that can help them to establish farm enterprise. Although some basic topics such as value addition, value chain and human resource management are missing in both the FDC and VETA curricula, with such competencies, the youth can at least manage to start up an enterprise. This is because the ideal requirement is awareness or exposure and basic applied skills that are enterprise-specific in order to launch an enterprise.
The question of adequacy of syllabus in terms of content was asked to the tutors and the response was that with the introduction of the VETA-curriculum, their syllabus was deemed adequate; when the follow-up question was asked about why the graduates find it difficult to start or establish an enterprise, the Mamtukuna tutors explained:
‘The environment [
This also emerged during the focus group discussion as one of the discussants explained:
‘There are no laboratories and facilities for conducting experiments, the situation has affected us for example we are not familiar with much of the skills in the topic of anatomy.‘ (Participant 5, Student, 18 January 2016)
What is taught is one thing but how it is taught to obtain the best outcome in learning is a different matter. In this case, the teaching methods that were used to deliver the agricultural and entrepreneurship competencies to FDC students were assessed as shown in
Teaching methods in Folk Development Colleges (
Type of teaching methodology | Yes | % |
---|---|---|
Lecture | 78 | 26.5 |
Learning by doing | 273 | 92.9 |
Classroom discussion | 274 | 93.2 |
Guest speaker | 125 | 42.5 |
First-hand interaction with farm entrepreneurs | 212 | 72.1 |
Case studies | 218 | 74.2 |
Research | 139 | 47.3 |
Peer tutoring | 255 | 86.8 |
Simulations and role play | 221 | 75.2 |
The findings show that six methods of teaching are commonly applied in the FDCs, with lecture, research and guest speakers less common, as shown in
During focus group discussions, respondents were asked if they are happy with the teaching methods. They were positive about those courses in which the tutors have good experience and provide practical details in their respective subjects. However, they complained that many of practical skills-oriented topics are only theoretically taught. The focus group discussant explained:
‘[
The discussion shows that lack of qualified tutors and appropriate infrastructure for student learning are a constraint to the experiential teaching method. The findings concur with Prathima et al. (
The expected learning outcomes in relation to farm entrepreneurship were assessed as shown in
Perception of expected learning outcomes in relation to farm entrepreneurship.
Number | Expected learning outcomes | Strongly disagree (%) | Disagree (%) | Unsure (%) | Agree (%) | Strongly agree (%) | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The courses have exposed me to basic skills required for farm entrepreneurship | 1.4 | 3.4 | 2.7 | 49.3 | 43.2 | 100.0 |
2 | The courses have provided me with enough knowledge to be a farm entrepreneur | 1.4 | 5.1 | 9.9 | 47.3 | 36.4 | 100.0 |
3 | The assignments have provided me with a good lesson for farm entrepreneurship | 0.3 | 1.0 | 8.2 | 48.0 | 42.5 | 100.0 |
4 | The courses have raised my awareness of the link between farming and industries | 4.1 | 7.1 | 12.6 | 47.3 | 28.9 | 100.0 |
5 | The courses were very clear | 1.4 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 57.5 | 29.3 | 100.0 |
6 | The courses are relevant to what I observed in the field | 3.4 | 4.8 | 15.6 | 37.8 | 38.4 | 100.0 |
‘We do not get enough time to stay with our tutors, others come and disappear, in one term and within the same course you can have sometimes more than two tutors.’ (Participant 7, Student, 18 January 2016)
In general, the respondents have a good perception of the expected learning outcomes measured in relation to farm entrepreneurship. Also, the curriculum used is relevant to the existing environment and industry as no mismatch has been noted at this perception level. However, practical classroom learning is lacking as reported during focus group discussions; this may have implications in terms of a mismatch with industry requirements for farm entrepreneurship. This finding is consistent with Gemma and Manipol (
An index was developed to determine the overall level of attainment of the expected learning outcomes of the respondents which was then analysed by descriptive statistics as shown in
Overall level of expected learning outcomes perception.
Learning outcomes | Frequency | % |
---|---|---|
Learning has no impact | 8 | 2.7 |
Undecided | 5 | 1.7 |
Learning has impact | 281 | 95.6 |
Generally, the descriptive statistics in
Farm entrepreneurial intention as a key aspect in this study was assessed by nine items measured on a five-point Likert scale (strongly disagree, disagree, unsure, agree and strongly disagree). The determinants for farm entrepreneurship intention that were assessed include readiness, determination, interest and internal drives (internal locus of control), measured by nine items as shown in
Farm entrepreneurial intention of the respondents (
Number | Entrepreneurial intention indicators | Strongly disagree (%) | Disagree (%) | Unsure (%) | Agree (%) | Strongly agree (%) | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | I am ready to do anything to be a farm entrepreneur | 1.7 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 38.1 | 49.7 | 100.0 |
2 | My professional goal is to be a farm entrepreneur | 2.7 | 6.8 | 5.4 | 28.6 | 56.5 | 100.0 |
3 | I will make every effort to start and run my own farm enterprise | 2.4 | 4.4 | 7.1 | 29.3 | 56.8 | 100.0 |
4 | I am determined to create a farm enterprise in the future | 0.7 | 4.4 | 9.2 | 37.8 | 48.0 | 100.0 |
5 | I do not have doubts about ever starting my own farm enterprise | 0.7 | 5.8 | 11.9 | 37.1 | 44.6 | 100.0 |
6 | I have very seriously thought of starting a farm enterprise in the future | 1.0 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 36.4 | 50.3 | 100.0 |
7 | I have a strong intention of ever starting a farm enterprise in the future | 2.0 | 3.1 | 6.5 | 35.0 | 53.4 | 100.0 |
8 | My qualification has contributed positively towards my interest in starting a farm enterprise | 1.7 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 41.2 | 50.3 | 100.0 |
9 | I had a strong intention to start my own farm enterprise before I started my study | 5.1 | 13.9 | 5.8 | 37.4 | 37.8 | 100.0 |
An index was developed to determine the overall level of youth farm entrepreneurial intention of the respondents after exposure to studying agricultural courses. As shown in
Overall youth farm entrepreneurial intention.
Intention | Frequency | % |
---|---|---|
No intention | 20 | 6.8 |
Undecided | 3 | 1.0 |
Presence of intention | 271 | 92.2 |
The relation between farm entrepreneurial intention and expected learning outcome was assessed. Farm entrepreneurship intention was first assessed based on the fact that they have studied the required courses. However, to obtain a direct relation, the learning outcome factors were established and computed against nine factors of farm entrepreneurship intention.
The findings (
The relationship between farm entrepreneurial intention and expected learning outcomes.
Number | Intention items | Expected learning outcomes |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
O1 | O2 | O3 | O4 | O5 | O6 | ||
1 | I am ready to do anything to be a farm entrepreneur | M | W | W | ns | W | Ns |
2 | My professional goal is to be a farm entrepreneur | M | W | ns | W | W | W |
3 | I will make every effort to start and run my own farm enterprise | W | W | W | W | W | W |
4 | I am determined to create a farm enterprise in the future | M | W | W | W | W | W |
5 | I do not have doubts about ever starting my own farm enterprise | W | ns | ns | ns | ns | W |
6 | I have very seriously thought of starting a farm enterprise in the future | M | ns | W | W | ns | W |
7 | I have a strong intention of ever starting a farm enterprise in the future | M | W | W | W | W | W |
8 | My qualification has contributed positively towards my interest in starting a farm enterprise | M | W | M | W | W | W |
9 | I had a strong intention to start my own farm enterprise before I started my study | W | W | W | W | W | Ns |
Note: Significant at 5%.
M, moderately weak (> 0.2); W, very weak (< 0.2); ns, not significant; O1, The courses have me exposed to basic skills required for farm entrepreneurship; O2, The courses have provided me enough knowledge to be a farm entrepreneur; O3, The assignments have provided me a good lesson for farm entrepreneurship; O4, The courses have raised my awareness on link between farming and industries; O5, The courses were very clear; O6, The courses are relevant to what I observed in the field.
The findings further show that six factors measuring farm entrepreneurial intention have a moderate weak significant relationship with the first determinant of the expected learning outcomes. Since the first expected learning outcome determinant focused on the possession of farm entrepreneurial skills, it is clear that the respondents’ farm entrepreneurial intention is influenced by studying agriculture and entrepreneurships courses. Also, significant relationships exist between four factors measuring farm entrepreneurial intention and the remaining five expected learning outcome determinants. The implication is that the respondents have acquired farm entrepreneurial knowledge and behavioural competencies which consequently impacted their farm entrepreneurial intention.
This finding concurs with Emanuel’s (
From the findings it can be concluded that the basic courses required for farm entrepreneurship were studied except for a few courses that are largely taught theoretically, with the challenges in the practical aspect (laboratory experiments). On the other hand, there is a significant positive relationship between the agri-entrepreneurship courses studied in the FDCs with the youth’s farm entrepreneurial intention. The implication is that the youth’s farm entrepreneurship intention for FDCs is associated with the learning acquired. They studied the appropriate content through the respective appropriate teaching methodologies as shown in the findings section. The findings also imply that the youth studying in these colleges clearly understand the start-up process of a farm enterprise and associated concepts. The FDC training has also changed the view of agriculture to a paying business as indicated by willingness to engage in farm entrepreneurship and their judgement regarding the benefits that can be obtained by engaging in farm entrepreneurship.
It is recommended that the curricula need to be reviewed regularly and behavioural, together with skill components, and their respective teaching methodologies need to be given more emphasis in colleges that teach agriculture and entrepreneurship courses. Also, the main goals of establishing FDCs and related colleges need to be revisited from time to time and reformulated if the need arises so as to cope with the contemporary social, economic and technological changes.
My sincere appreciation goes to the editors of this article for their efforts and support in editing the document. These include Mr Boscow Mutambira and Ms Asteria Ngaiza.
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
P.B.N. and C.K.M. contributed equally to this article.
This article followed all ethical standards for research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The data are available from the corresponding author, P.B.N., upon reasonable request.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.