Agripreneurial Potential of University Agricultural Science Students: Opportunities in Agri-Food Systems for Africa's Development

The study participants were agricultural science students from the Department of Agricultural Science Education at the University of Education, Winneba. The respondents comprised students admitted to the university from the 2021/2022 academic year through the 2023/2024 academic year. The target population consisted of 88 students in Level 100, 78 students in Level 200, and 65 students in Level 300. The student population included all 231 registered agricultural science education students.

A descriptive survey design was adopted as the research design for the study. The design was utilised to determine the level of agripreneurial tendencies of the agricultural science students at the University of Education, Winneba, at a single point in time (Kesmodel, 2018). The survey design was used to estimate the outcome of the entrepreneurial behaviour of the agricultural science education students in their natural school environment without manipulating the settings (Prince and Das-Munshi, 2020). A census of all 231 agricultural science education students was conducted to measure entrepreneurial tendencies as well as the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents (VanderStoep and Johnston, 2009). The sampling criteria were decided to include all registered agricultural science students in Levels 100 to 300 who had not received prior entrepreneurial education at the university (Memon et al., 2020).

A questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was divided into two parts. The first part elicited responses on sociodemographic characteristics of the students, including age, sex, level, willingness to establish agricultural enterprises after graduation, and area of specialisation. Part two was used to measure agricultural science education students' enterprising tendency, adopting the second-generation General Measure of Enterprising Tendency (GET 2) test by Caird (2013). GET2 comprises five dimensions: need for achievement, need for autonomy, creative tendency, calculated risk-taking and internal locus of control. The GET2 contains 54 items in total; students were asked to use a binary scale of “agree” or “disagree” to indicate their agreement with the statements. GET 2 has an equal number of positive and negative items included in the questionnaire (Caird, 2013). The questionnaire was assessed for face and content validity by two entrepreneurship experts in the Department of Agricultural Science Education, University of Education, Winneba. The experts examined the questionnaire items for appropriateness, clarity, logical coherence, and format to determine face validity (Yusoff, 2019). They evaluated content validity by focusing on multiple elements directly related to comprehensiveness, representativeness, and relevance (Memon et al., 2023). The experts considered the theoretical underpinning when assessing content validity, ensuring that the questionnaire items were based on relevant theory and literature regarding the enterprising tendency of agricultural science students (Caird, 2013). The validated questionnaire was pre-tested with 10 Environmental Health and Sanitation students to help validate and assess the internal consistency of the instrument. International Business Machine-Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM-SPSS version 28) software was used to compute the Kuder-Richardson (KR-20) reliability coefficient for the dichotomous enterprising tendency (Azabache et al., 2021). The result of the Kuder-Richardson reliability coefficient of the 54 items was 0.73, implying that 73% of the items in the instrument are reliable with a low standard error (Yun et al., 2023). Copies of the questionnaire were administered to the 231 agricultural science students at the University of Education, Winneba. Before data collection, students were assured of the confidentiality of their responses and anonymity. Data collection was carried out in a friendly and peaceful manner without compulsion; students who declined participation were allowed to exit the study. After one month of data collection, 176 agricultural science students returned their questionnaires, representing a 76% response rate (Baruch and Holtom, 2008).

Data from the study were processed using IBM-SPSS version 28. Frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, and two-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were utilised to analyse the data. Socio-demographic characteristics were analysed using frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations. Similarly, enterprising tendency was analysed using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. All 54 items of the GET 2 were included in the analysis. Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with each statement. One point was awarded for each positive statement that students agreed with. Likewise, one point was awarded if the students disagreed with a negative statement (Liu et al., 2020). The total score for enterprising tendency was calculated by summing the points awarded, providing an individual score for each of the entrepreneurial attributes (Keling et al., 2023). Differences in the linear combination of the five GET2 dimensions – need for achievement, need for autonomy, creative tendency, calculated risk-taking, and internal locus of control – in relation to students' level of study and sex were analysed using two-way MANOVA (Huang, 2020).

Table 1 presents the demographic characteristics of the agricultural science students at the University of Education, Winneba. The majority of students (81.8%) are male, and most (81.3%) fall within the 20–29 age range. The mean age of the students is 24.10 ±4.19 years. Regarding academic levels, more than one-third of the students are in Level 100 (37.5%) and Level 200 (38.6%), while nearly one quarter (23.9%) are in Level 300. A significant majority of the respondents (91.5%) expressed willingness to establish agri-food enterprises after graduation. Among those willing to venture into agripreneurship, livestock production was the most preferred area (44.1%), followed by crop-based enterprises (32.9%). Other areas of interest included agricultural mechanisation services (9.3%), and food processing (8.1%).

The general agri-enterprising tendencies of the Agricultural Science students are presented in Table 2. The total score of general enterprising tendency is measured with a maximum score of 54. The total score is categorised as high enterprising tendency with scores between 44 to 54, medium enterprising tendency between 27 to 43, and low enterprising tendency between 0 to 26. Of the 176 respondents, 160, representing 90.9% had medium enterprising tendency in agri-food systems. Holienka et al. (2019) studied enterprising tendency and entrepreneurial characteristics of university students in four different non-business fields (engineering, science of art, sports, and pedagogy) in four Slovakian universities and concluded that students exhibited medium enterprising tendency. Our result is also similar to that of Liu et al. (2020), which also recorded medium enterprising tendency among Chinese university students. Keling et al. (2023) likewise found medium enterprising tendency among the majority of indigenous Dayak women entrepreneurs in Sarawak, Malaysia. According to Caird (1991), medium enterprising tendency suggests that the students may be enterprising in specific situations and environments because they possess some enterprising traits. The score indicates that the majority of students would be better served by being employed as intrapreneurs within an enterprise as opposed to starting a new enterprise (Caird, 2013). Our results also showed that a total of 15 (8.5%) respondents had low enterprising tendency, while only one student (0.6%) was ranked with high enterprising tendency in agri-food systems. The category of students with low enterprising tendency, according to the GET2, does not seem to be very entrepreneurial in what they do now (Caird, 2013). This implies that they are more likely to be employed or follow the lead rather than take the initiative (Holienka et al., 2015). On the other hand, the student with high enterprising tendency has a high propensity for entrepreneurship. This indicates that the student is inclined to initiate and oversee agri-food projects, whether in their own community, within an employing organisation, or through their own business (Yasin and Khansari, 2021).

When the mean scores of the individual entrepreneurial characteristics of the agricultural science students were assessed, the results showed that apart from the need for autonomy (which students scored low: 2.42 ±1.10), need for achievement (8.05 ±1.81), creative tendency (7.20 ±1.49), calculated risking-taking (7.36 ±1.61), and internal locus of control (6.80 ±1.51) were rated as medium. The results are consistent with the findings of Yasin et al. (2020), who examined the enterprising tendencies of Arab female undergraduate engineering students in the Sultanate of Oman and found that students showed medium risking taking abilities, followed by creativity, internal locus of control, need for achievement, and low need for autonomy. The results are also similar to the findings of Fernandes Junior et al. (2020) on the enterprising tendencies of nursing students in higher education institutions in São Paulo, Brazil.

Results of need for achievement revealed that 23.3% of the students had low achievement, more than half (51.7%) had medium, and one-fourth (25.0%) had high achievement. This implies that students with high need for achievement have a future orientation towards establishing agri-food enterprises, as they have confidence in their abilities, are optimistic rather than pessimistic, task-oriented, manage time effectively, and are results-driven (Caird, 2013). On the other hand, students with medium need for achievement may prefer working with well-established agri-food enterprises that fit their lifestyles rather than setting up their own agri-food enterprises. Those with low need for achievement may perceive establishing and operating an agri-food enterprise as requiring excessive effort and commitment and may favour taking life at a more even pace (Holienka et al., 2015). Students' need for achievement reflects their aspiration to attain excellence in agri-food systems development by setting high standards and striving to meet them (Jayapriya et al., 2019).

The second entrepreneurial characteristic, need for autonomy, showed that close to half (48.3%) of the respondents had low need for autonomy, more than one-third (36.8%) had medium, while 14.8% were categorised as high. The result mirrors the findings of Fernandes Junior et al. (2020), which examined the enterprising tendency of nursing students and reported that students possessed low need for autonomy. Entrepreneurial autonomy refers to an individual's ability to determine tasks, set deadlines, and choose methods for carrying out business operations (Caird, 2013). Over time, entrepreneurs may experience varying degrees of autonomy (van Gelderen, 2016). The experience of autonomy is not always guaranteed for entrepreneurs; therefore, those who are driven by autonomy must work hard to achieve and preserve it (Jayapriya et al., 2019). The low need for autonomy reported by the respondents indicates that students are unlikely to appreciate being in control of an agri-food organisation and would prefer to receive guidance on managing it. Da Silva et al. (2019) support this view, noting that a low level of autonomy reflects a preference for working for others rather than for oneself.

In terms of the creative tendency of the respondents, more than one-third (34.7%) had low, close to six in ten (58.5%) had medium, and a few (6.8) had high creative tendency. Our results are similar to those of Liu et al. (2020) and Keling et al. (2023), who both recorded medium creative tendency in entrepreneurial tendency in Asia. It is widely believed among scholars that one of the key traits of an entrepreneur is creativity (da Silva et al., 2019; Yasin et al., 2020). Jayapriya et al. (2019) note that the inclination to come up with or recognise concepts, options or possibilities that could help solve problems is known as creativity. Thus, agricultural science students who are creative must be able to see things in a novel way (Pyune, 2015). However, the respondents in this study with medium creativity are most likely to work on tried and tested agri-food business concepts that are easier to execute, and match their lifestyles (Caird, 2013). Therefore, with appropriate instruction, courses and training, agricultural science students' creative abilities can be enhanced, helping them to recognise agri-food system opportunities often hidden in social interactions (da Silva et al., 2019).

The fourth entrepreneurial characteristic, the ability of the students to take calculated risks, revealed that more than a quarter (27.3%) had low ability, more than six in ten (64.8%) had medium ability, while a few (8.0%) demonstrated high ability. The results indicate that the majority of agricultural science students possess limited strength in taking calculated risks when it comes to agri-food enterprises. This suggests that agricultural science students may prefer partnering with tried and tested enterprises or agri-food business ventures where partners assume all the risks, even if it means giving up some potential rewards (Caird, 2013). Agripreneurs face numerous challenges in their ventures (Ghalwash et al., 2017). However, an essential quality of agripreneurs is the willingness to take risks (Ajekwe and Ibiamke, 2020). There are usually multiple ways to tackle these issues if they arise (Spector and Kitsuse, 2001). Each of these solutions has its own merits and demerits, which agripreneurs must evaluate to determine the most beneficial one (Eabrasu, 2021). The process of assessing oneself and seizing an opportunity – despite inherent uncertainty – is referred to as taking a calculated risk (Jayapriya et al., 2019). The findings suggest that agricultural science students would prefer working in safer agri-food enterprises rather than engaging in risky activities (Zhao et al., 2020).

The results of the internal locus of control indicated that close to half of the respondents had low (47.7%) and medium (48.3%) internal locus of control, while a few (4.0%) had high internal locus of control. The concept of internal locus of control relates to the capacity of agricultural science students to take hold of an opportunity in an agri-food system and decide whether or not to seize it (Chiles et al., 2020). The outcome of this study indicates that students with medium internal locus of control possess some agripreneurial qualities, but to succeed in agri-food ventures, they may need to work on their self-confidence and enterprising skills (Fagioli and Viganò, 2022). To build their self-confidence, they must develop specific project management or business skills in areas where they feel improvement is needed (da Silva et al., 2019). Without sufficient self-confidence, they might rely too much on partners or clients, which could increase the risk of failure in their agri-food ventures (McDonagh et al., 2024). The group of students with low internal locus of control may have experienced setbacks that have diminished their self-confidence, leading them to question whether effort and character traits alone will enable them to fulfil their ambition of establishing agri-food enterprises (Caird, 1991). These students may hold a more fatalistic view, believing that fate and luck determine their future more than personal effort (Caird, 2013). Although identifying opportunities demonstrates determination, a lack of initiative might cause these opportunities to fade (Collewaert et al., 2016). It can therefore be inferred that agricultural science students in the low internal locus of control category may not be inclined to make the necessary effort to establish agri-food enterprises after graduation from university (Zhao et al., 2020). This could reflect a lack of self-confidence (Agholor et al., 2024).

Table 3 presents the results of the two-way Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) used to examine the differences in the linear combination of the agripreneurial characteristics with respect to the sex and academic level of the students. There were no significant violations identified in the preliminary evaluation of multicollinearity, univariate and multivariate outliers, linearity, and normality. The three-by-two-by-five MANOVA was used to examine the effect of the academic level of the students (Level 100, 200, and 300) and sex (male and female) on the five entrepreneurial characteristics being investigated. The Box's M test was performed to examine the assumption of quality of homogeneity of variance-covariance matrices. The obtained Box's M value of 130.74 indicates that covariance matrices across groups are estimated to be equal [F (75,2557.25) = 1.42, p = 0.011]. Statistical significance was established using the Wilks' Lambda criterion. The results indicated that there was no statistical difference between level 100, 200, and 300 students [F (10,332.00) = 0.83, p = 0.60, Λw = 0.95, η² = 0.02] and the linear combination of the five entrepreneurial characteristics, specifically the need for achievement, the need for autonomy, creative tendency, calculated risk taking and internal locus of control. Additionally, male and female agricultural science students did not significantly differ regarding the linear combination of the entrepreneurial characteristics [F (5,166.00) = 0.62, p = 0.69, Λw = 0.98, η² = 0.02]. Furthermore, there was no meaningful difference in the interaction between academic level and sex of the students regarding the linear combination of the five entrepreneurial characteristics [F (5,166.00) = 0.62, p = 0.69, Λw = 0.98, η² = 0.02].

The results indicate that the agricultural science education students at the University of Education, Winneba, do not differ significantly in their agripreneurial tendencies based on their academic levels, sex, and the interaction between level and sex of the students. The findings imply that the students' academic level, sex, and the interaction of these variables have no significant impact on their need for achievement, autonomy, creative tendency, calculated risk-taking, or internal locus of control. Fernandes Junior et al. (2020) argue that higher education institutions must be cognisant of the traits of prospective students and devise strategies that capitalise on the opportunity to educate more committed professionals who understand their place in society through agri-food system development. Our results, which showed that male and female students did not differ in agripreneurial tendency, align with previous research by Fragoso et al. (2020) and Wu et al. (2022), which studied university students in Portugal, Brazil and Hungary and found that male and female students in those contexts have similar entrepreneurial tendencies. The evidence is, however, inconsistent with earlier studies by Liu et al. (2020) and Franceško et al. (2022), where male students demonstrated stronger entrepreneurial orientation than their female counterparts. Davis et al. (2016) suggested that gender disparities exist in entrepreneurial inclinations and that women graduating from universities are less likely than men to launch new enterprises. Our findings, however, did not support this view, implying that male and female agricultural science students at the University of Education, Winneba, exhibit comparable agripreneurial tendencies and should therefore be treated equally when designing agripreneurial programmes for them. Our findings regarding the lack of significant difference in agripreneurial characteristics by academic level mirror those of Nguyen (2018), who found no difference in academic qualification and entrepreneurial intention among Vietnamese business students.

According to Boudreaux et al. (2022), economic development, and by extension, enterprise and entrepreneurship, are prerequisites for societal well-being. Ghana's commitment to fostering entrepreneurship is reflected in the creation of the National Employment Policy, implementation of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP), and provisions found in the National Medium-Term Development Policy Framework (NMTDPF) 2018–2021 (Adu et al., 2020). Our findings highlight the relevance and potential for enhancing entrepreneurial education and training among undergraduate agricultural science students at the University of Education, Winneba, and across the country, which aligns with these national policies. Fragoso et al. (2020) asserted that students recognise and value entrepreneurship education. Although entrepreneurship curricula do not directly determine students' entrepreneurial intentions (Sanyal and Al Mashani, 2018), they introduce students to the entrepreneurial world and boost their interest and knowledge (Olokundun et al., 2018). These exposures increase their tendency to adopt behaviours like risk-taking, and proactivity in business creation (Adu et al., 2020). The primary aim of entrepreneurship education is to systematically build essential knowledge and conceptual understanding of entrepreneurship (Mohamed & Sheikh Ali, 2021). Students who receive such education feel more confident in their capacity to reflect and evaluate data in order to make sound decisions, owing to the knowledge base and higher-order cognitive skills they acquire (Vijayakumar et al., 2023). To cultivate behavioural control, risk-taking, and proactivity, higher education institutions in agriculture must adopt innovative agripreneurial pedagogies that provide opportunities for social persuasion and hands-on experiences in agri-food systems development (Lyu et al., 2024).

The results highlight the applicability of GET2 for assessing the agripreneurial tendency of agricultural science students. The study provided evidence of the agripreneurial potential of Agricultural Science students in higher education institutions to take advantage of the opportunities offered by agri-food systems for Africa's development. Our results give insights into the areas where higher education institutions can focus on when designing curricula for students in agripreneurial education with specialisation in livestock, crops, mechanisation and food processing agri-food systems. The study focused solely on the agripreneurial tendency of agricultural science students at the University of Education, Winneba; hence, the findings cannot be fully generalised to the broader student population of the university, which is one of the study's limitations. The results can only be partially generalised to the agricultural science students who participated in the study. Secondly, the self-reported nature of data collection may have induced social biases and inconsistencies linked to the actual behaviour of the students. Thirdly, the small sample size presents an opportunity for extended investigation with a larger sample size that employs a mixed-methods approach to validate the results. The study can also be replicated in other public universities in Ghana that offer agricultural science programmes.