Abstract
Aim - The study assessed the entrepreneurial behavior skills of smallholder potato farmers in Nakuru County, Kenya. Methodology - A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were collected from a total of 267 respondents using multistage sampling techniques. The principal component analysis was used to check the reliability and construct variability of entrepreneurial behavior skills. An entrepreneurial behavior index was generated to measure the behavior skills of smallholder potato farmers. Findings - The results show that most smallholder potato farmers had a medium level of risk-taking ability, proactiveness behavior, innovativeness behavior, information-seeking behavior, cosmopoliteness behavior, and decision-making ability. The study concluded that this medium level of entrepreneurial behavior skills made smallholder potato farmers unable to perceive potato farming as a profitable and viable agribusiness venture. Originality - The study recommends that entrepreneurial training with practical demonstration and effective communication skills should be used as an approach to empower and promote the development of entrepreneurial behavior qualities among smallholder potato farmers.
Highlights
In the agriculture sector, entrepreneurial behavior is a psychological pathway and marketing strategy employed to improve sustainable growth and development of agribusiness performance (Kahan, 2013)
The study concluded that most smallholder potato farmers possessed a medium level of risk-taking ability, proactiveness, innovativeness, information-seeking behavior, cosmopoliteness, and decision-making ability due to their poor education levels, gender differences, low annual farm incomes, poor farming experiences, and low scale of potato production
The study recommends that smallholder farmers be provided with adult education on modern agricultural practices and technologies to increase their chance of adoption tendency leading to high potato productivity and profitability
Summary
Entrepreneurial behavior is a psychological pathway and marketing strategy employed to improve sustainable growth and development of agribusiness performance (Kahan, 2013). Entrepreneurial behavior is the critical driver for the economic growth and development of the potato industry in Kenya. The potato industry contributes 1.9% to agricultural gross domestic product (Mwangi, 2010) and provides farm income for 3.8 million smallholder farmers in rural settings (Okello et al, 2016). NPCK (2016) documented that the national average potato yield in Kenya is below 10t/ha against a potential of 40t/ha-50t/ha, mainly due to poor-quality seeds and crop farming. This poor performance could be attributed to the illiteracy of smallholder farmers in adopting new seed varieties and following good agricultural practices.
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