Green Entrepreneurial Awareness and Competitiveness of Agro-Allied SMEs in Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between green entrepreneurial awareness and competitiveness of agro-allied SMEs in Obio-Akpor LGA, Rivers State. The study adopted a cross sectional survey research design. Primary data was collected with the aid of structured questionnaire from the 125 agro-entrepreneurs who were engaged in fish farming, rice farming, poultry farming, oil palm processing, etc. and were registered with the Agricultural Development Board (ADB) in Obio Akpor LGA. They formed the study population. Due to the small size of the population, all 125 agro-entrepreneurs were chosen to participate in the census. The Cronbach Alpha coefficient was used to assess the instrument's reliability, and all items scored above 0.70. Only the data from 99 respondents were used for analysis after the data were cleaned. Two research hypotheses guided the study and the Spearman's Rank Order Correlation Coefficient was used to test the hypotheses. The tests were run using a significance threshold of 0.05. The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between green entrepreneurial awareness and competitiveness of agro-allied SMEs in in Obio-Akpor LGA, Rivers State. The study concludes that the awareness of green entrepreneurship, which involves integrating environmental considerations into business operations, positively impacts the competitiveness of agro-allied SMEs. Therefore, the study recommends that agro-allied SMEs should prioritize implementing green practices throughout their operations. This could include using eco-friendly farming techniques, reducing waste, recycling materials, and adopting sustainable energy sources. Keyword: Green Entrepreneurial Awareness, Competitiveness, Environmental Knowledge, Green Initiative Orientation