Determinants of Agripreneurial Career Intentions: Evidence From Agriculture Students

Suprehatin Suprehatin,Muhammad Rasyid Shidiq

doi:10.17358/jma.17.2.128

Abstract

The participation of young people in agriculture is essential for addressing issues of food security, youth unemployment, ageing farmers, and the digital revolution in the agriculture and food sectors. Various programs have been conducted by the Government of Indonesia (including One Million Millennial Farmers Movement Program), by the private sector, and by universities to raise the interest of students and increase the number of young farmers in the agricultural and food industry. These programs are a response to the continuing decline in the number of Indonesian farm households and the need to attract younger entrants into the industry. This study analyses the factors that influence the intention of agricultural students to become agripreneurs using a modified theory of planned behaviour (TPB) approach. Data obtained from a survey of 204 agricultural students at IPB University using a voluntary sampling method and analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS SEM). The results showed that individual characteristics, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control of agricultural students had a significant effect on the intention to become an agripreneur. The study also showed that family background did not significantly influence the intention of agricultural university students to become an agripreneur. The findings contribute to the literature by providing a better understanding of the role that agriculture education and training plays in increasing students’ intention to work in agriculture. Keywords: agriculture education, agripreneur, agripreneurship, intention, youth farmer

Highlights

Agriculture is vital in many developing countries where it is the main occupation of the poor
This study identified different levels of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control amongst the 204 selected university agriculture students to be an agripreneur
Most of the agricultural students intend to be agripreneur as their secondary job or merely a profitable hobby, not as a primary profession

Summary

Introduction

Agriculture is vital in many developing countries where it is the main occupation of the poor. Hamyana (2017) conduct a study about young farmers group motives to work in agriculture sector in Batu villages. These studies are targeted at young people in the rural areas. That conducted their research in agicultural centre area Agricultural education, both formal or informal affects someone’s intention to work in the agriculture sector according to Fayolle and Gailly (2015). The TPB developed by Ajzen (1991) is commonly used as framework model in entrepreneurial intention research (Liñán & Chen, 2009) In this model, three fundamental independent variables are affecting intention, namely attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control. ∑n i=1 cipi where A is attitude toward behaviour, bi is belief strength, ei is evaluation of outcome, SN is subjective norm, ni is normative bbeliefs, mi is motivation to comply, PBC is perceived behavioural control, ci is belief of control and pi is power of perceived

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