Agripreneurship, Agripreneurs, Economic Growth, Rural Development, Food Security, Constraints.

and social change, enhancing the significance of entrepreneurship in a nation's economic prosperity. Successful new ventures boost national income by generating wealth and creating jobs. Schumpeter (1934) highlighted the vital role of entrepreneurship for economic prosperity, defining it as the creation of "enterprise" aimed at introducing new goods, new methods of production, opening new markets, acquiring new sources of supply, and reorganizing industries. These entrepreneurial activities drive economic growth and innovation, contributing to the overall development of a country. Entrepreneurs are individuals who carry out entrepreneurial activities with significant economic value to a country. They create jobs, drive economic growth, raise standards of living, and introduce new products and technologies. Through their innovative activities, entrepreneurs play an important role in growing the economy and contributing to the overall development and prosperity of the country (Audretsch and Keilbach 2007).

Agripreneurship is gaining recognition as a key driver of economic development, rural advancement, and sustainable food production. By merging innovative business practices with agricultural activities, agripreneurs can boost productivity, implement sustainable farming techniques, and create value-added products. This integration not only enhances agricultural efficiency but also supports environmental sustainability and rural livelihoods. Despite its potential, several constraints hinder the pursuit of agripreneurship, particularly among students who are future agripreneurs. Challenges such as limited access to resources, inadequate training, and lack of awareness about agripreneurial opportunities prevent students from fully engaging in this field. Addressing these barriers is essential to empower the next generation of agripreneurs and to unlock the full potential of agripreneurship for sustainable economic growth and development.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The literature review synthesizes findings from multiple research studies on this topic, providing an overview of existing knowledge about the research problem and identifying areas that require further investigation. Key relevant studies are summarized below.

Scherer et al. (1989) identified a detrimental impact, especially when facing failures within family businesses. Their research highlighted that experiencing setbacks, particularly in the context of family-owned enterprises, had adverse effects. This suggests that failures within family businesses may have specific challenges or consequences that negatively influence individuals. Dana (2000) revealed that the three primary forces impacting entrepreneurial orientation - culture, education, and environment have interacted to shape the current orientation of India's youth. This combination of social structure and culture values has constrained entrepreneurship in India. Elmuti et al. (2012) emphasized that entrepreneurial education programs played a significant role in sparking entrepreneurial intentions among students. These programs were effective in cultivating self-confidence among interested students, empowering them with the skills and mindset needed to initiate and pursue business ventures. This highlights the positive impact of educational initiatives in fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among students, providing them with the knowledge and confidence to consider and embark on entrepreneurial endeavors. Understanding the influence of such programs is crucial for designing effective educational strategies that encourage and support entrepreneurship among students. Sayyar et al. (2012) expressed the view that promoting entrepreneurship in agriculture could be facilitated by ensuring easy access to credit, providing loans to students at low interest rates, eliminating administrative barriers in entrepreneurship, and reforming legislation related to entrepreneurial activities. This suggests that creating a favorable financial and regulatory environment, particularly in the agricultural sector, could encourage and support students in pursuing entrepreneurial ventures. Recognizing these factors is essential for policymakers and institutions aiming to foster entrepreneurship in agriculture and provide necessary support for students interested in this field. Ihugba et al. (2013) expressed the opinion that having sufficient and well-functioning infrastructure facilities could enhance the entrepreneurial environment. This, in turn, could address the problem of youth unemployment by fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among them. The suggestion here is that a supportive infrastructure can play a crucial role in creating opportunities and a conducive environment for young individuals to engage in entrepreneurial activities. Abirami and Kumar (2014) conducted a study on entrepreneurial awareness among college students to become an entrepreneur with reference to Tirupur district. Findings of the study revealed that even though majority of the students were hailing from poor family; they had an interest to start new business. Chandra and Srilatha (2015) conducted a study on Entrepreneurship: A boost to economy an empirical study on entrepreneurial self efficacy and career intention at an early age. The study found that the curriculum used in progressive educational modes had a more significant influence on individuals' intentions to pursue entrepreneurial careers compared to the traditional curriculum. This suggests that innovative and forward-thinking educational approaches play a crucial role in shaping entrepreneurial aspirations among young individuals. Nor et al. (2015) argued that the key factors influencing the inclination of youth towards entrepreneurship were the facilities provided by the government, the perceived risks associated with starting a business, and the role of the government in supporting entrepreneurial endeavors. This suggests that government support, perceived risk factors, and the active role of the government play pivotal roles in shaping the entrepreneurial inclination among young individuals. Recognizing these factors is important for policymakers and authorities seeking to design effective strategies and interventions to encourage youth participation in entrepreneurship. The study of Uddin et al. (2016) on influence of demographic factors on the entrepreneurial intentions of university students in Oman, suggested various action steps like policy makers should focus on ways to expose students to real life industry situations so that they may gain experience. The study also emphasized that entrepreneurship can be promoted by focusing on methods to raise the entrepreneurial intentions among the university students such as introducing entrepreneurship course and making on job training a part of the course curriculum. This will give students a chance to get hands on experience and help in familiarizing them towards entrepreneurship. As female students were found to have lesser entrepreneurial intentions than their male counterparts, entrepreneurship courses should try to orient the mindset of the female students towards entrepreneurship. Zwan et al. (2016) found that a significant barrier for individuals aiming to establish a startup company is the lack of financial support. Therefore, they emphasized the importance of providing adequate credit support for budding entrepreneurs. This highlighted the critical role of financial assistance in overcoming barriers and supporting individuals in their pursuit of entrepreneurial ventures. Recognizing the importance of such credit support is essential for policymakers and institutions working to create a supportive environment for the development of startups and the encouragement of entrepreneurial initiatives. Gelaidan and Abdullateef (2017) highlighted that support from friends, parents, and relatives - whether it's financial, physical, informational, or moral - plays a crucial role in nurturing the aspirations of young individuals to achieve their entrepreneurial goals. Ilman et al. (2020) highlighted that entrepreneurial education and the university environment indirectly influenced entrepreneurial intention among students by shaping perceived behavioral control and attitude towards entrepreneurship. The study revealed that entrepreneurial education played a crucial role in equipping students with the skills, knowledge, and ability to identify business opportunities and manage a business. This implies that educational programs and the overall university environment contribute significantly to fostering the right mindset and capabilities for entrepreneurship among students. Recognizing the impact of these factors is essential for designing effective educational strategies to promote entrepreneurial intentions.

The present study attempts to identify the constraints for agripreneurship as perceived by the post-graduate students of State Agricultural Universities in Gujarat. The operational definitions of various constructs are as follows:

∙ Agripreneurship: Agripreneurship is the application of entrepreneurial principles to the agricultural sector. It involves the integration of innovative and business-oriented approaches in agriculture to enhance productivity, efficiency, and sustainability.

∙ Students: This pertains to the Regular Full Time Post Graduate Degree pursuing students of both the years – first and second year of their post-graduation degree in agriculture and horticulture faculties of four SAUs situated at Navsari, Anand, Junagadh, and Dantiwada.

∙ Constraints: This refers to the obstacles, hindrances or hindrances faced by students in the field of entrepreneurship.

Research Design. A descriptive cross-sectional research design was used in this study to identify the constraints for agripreneurship as perceived by the post-graduate students of State Agricultural Universities in Gujarat. The study was conducted at a specific point in time, hence it is classified as cross-sectional. Primary data were collected from the students only once, underscoring the cross-sectional nature of the study.

Data Collection

1. Primary data: The study is predominantly based on primary data. Primary data were collected from regular full time students enrolled in postgraduate programs (1st and 2nd year) in the agricultural and horticultural faculties of four SAUs located at Navsari, Anand, Junagadh, and Dantiwada.

2. Secondary data: Secondary data were also utilized for the study, which involved an extensive literature review, analysis of annual reports from the SAUs in Gujarat, examination of previous research studies, and collection of relevant secondary data from published reports of government departments, research papers, newspapers, books, and internet sources. Secondary data were sourced from various mediums including books, articles, journals, periodicals, other published and unpublished sources, as well as electronic databases and internet resources.

Sampling Procedure. Simple Random Sampling method, a form of probability sampling was adopted for the selection of respondents. Lottery method was utilized to ensure the random and proportionate selection of respondents from both the agriculture and horticulture faculties. For this, updated sampling frame was available, which made the task of selecting the respondents through lottery method. 

Sample Size. In this study, 300 students were randomly selected and surveyed from four state agricultural universities in Gujarat.

Demographic characteristics of the students. Based on the frequency analysis of the responses of 300 respondents, as shown in Table 1, demographic characteristics of respondents – students - were classified according to their gender, age, locality, faculty of postgraduate, parental occupation, type of family, size of family and annual family income. 

Table 1: Demographic characteristics of the students.

Majority (72.00%) of the respondents were male and only 28.00 per cent respondents were female. Most of the respondents 52.00 per cent fell within the 23-25 years age group. Additionally, about 47.33 per cent of respondents fell within the 20-22 years age group. Only 0.67 per cent of respondents were above 25 years old, while there were no respondents below 20 years old. The majority of the respondents belonged to the rural area 70.67 per cent and 29.33 per cent were from the urban area. The majority of the respondents, representing 83.33 per cent were drawn from Agriculture faculty, while rest 16.67 per cent were drawn from Horticulture faculty. The majority of respondents, comprising 59.67 per cent, reported their fathers' occupation as falling within the 'farming' category. Additionally, the percentages of respondents whose fathers were employed in government services and private sector services were nearly equal, at 17.67 per cent and 17.33 per cent respectively. A smaller proportion, 4.33 per cent, stated that their fathers were self-employed. Only 1.00 per cent of respondents reported their fathers' occupation as being in cooperative services. In the type of family, the majority of respondents belonged to nuclear families, comprising 61.00 per cent, while 39.00 per cent were from joint families. In terms of family size, 49.67 per cent of respondents reported having 5-7 members in their family. Additionally, 38.33 per cent had up to 4 members, 7.33 per cent had 8-10 members, and 4.67 per cent had more than 10 members in their family. Consequently, the survey highlighted that the majority of respondents, totalling 61.67 per cent, had large family sizes. The majority of respondents, comprising 36.67 per cent, reported an annual family income of up to 1 lakh, followed by 32.67 per cent with income ranging from 1,00,001 to 3 lakhs. Additionally, 15.33 per cent had income between 3,00,001 to 5 lakhs, while 8.67 per cent reported income above 7 lakhs. Only 6.67 per cent of respondents had annual family income ranging from 5,00,001 to 7 lakhs. 

The Constraints for Agripreneurship as Perceived by Post-Graduate Students

Constraints limiting Agripreneurship among the students. Considering the importance of identifying constraints in entrepreneurship, as highlighted by Liñán and Fayolle (2015), it is crucial to recognize that individuals' intentions to start their own business are influenced by their perceptions of constraints or challenges, as noted by Pittway and Cope (2007). Various barriers may deter individuals from venturing into entrepreneurship. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report for 2022-2023 identified financial support, cultural and social norms, R&D transfer, education, and training as significant constraints on entrepreneurship development in India. Therefore, in the current study, based on a review of literature, twelve statements were formulated and a five point Likert type teacher made rating scale was used to identify the constraints which are impeding the students to choose entrepreneurship as their career.

The constraints limiting agripreneurship among respondents of the study are detailed in Table 2 and visually depicted in Fig. 1. The most important and first ranked constraint faced by respondents was found to be ‘Fear of failure in business. The other major constraints faced by respondents were ‘Poor family background’, ‘Complex Government Procedure for setting up a business’, ‘Lack of financial backup’ and ‘Family/Societal pressure for stability/security’ reported as second, third, fourth and fifth ranks respectively. 

Students also faced constraints like ‘Lack of awareness among the youth for entrepreneurship development’, ‘Scarcity of targeted training programmes for entrepreneurship development’, ‘Bad experience of others’, ‘Wide gap between Industry and Academia’, ‘Inability to bear mental pressure of business’, ‘Apathy among youth for entrepreneurship development’ and ‘Lack of conducive ambience for entrepreneurship during academics’ as sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth ranks respectively.

Table 2: Constraints limiting the agripreneurship among the students (n = 300).

Figures in the parenthesis represent cumulative score obtained by CS = Score Value of Response × No. of Respondents

SA - Strongly Agree (5), A – Agree (4), N – Neutral (3), D – Disagree (2), SD - Strongly Disagree (1)

Fig. 1. Constraints limiting the agripreneurship among the students.

Anil Kumar and Mehul G. Thakkar  (2024). Constrains for Agripreneurship as perceived by the Post Graduate Students of State Agricultural Universities of Gujarat. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 16(8): 318-323.