Proclivity to entrepreneurship among agricultural undergraduates in Ondo state, Nigeria

Abstract

Entrepreneurship is one of the economic self-reliance tools for addressing youth unemployment and sustainable agricultural livelihoods in Nigeria. This study examined agricultural undergraduates' proclivity toward agricultural and non-agricultural entrepreneurship in Ondo State. Using a multistage sampling procedure, data were collected from 153 undergraduates through a structured questionnaire. The study reveals that the mean age of respondents was 23.1 +/- 3.4 years, with most being male (51%). Specifically, 51.6% had favourable perceptions of agricultural entrepreneurship, while 58.6% held favourable perceptions of non-agricultural entrepreneurship. The respondents' motivating factors for agricultural entrepreneurship were interest in agricultural technology and innovation (x = 1.66) and desire for independence and self-employment (x = 1.65), while desire for independence and self-employment (x = 1.77) and passion for social impact (x = 1.69) were the motivating factors for non-agribusiness. It was also revealed that 60.1% of the respondents showed high proclivity for agricultural entrepreneurship, while a higher proportion, 69.9%, had high proclivity for non-agricultural entrepreneurship. The t-test result (t = -1.68, p = 0.095) reveals no significant difference between students' proclivity toward agricultural and non-agricultural entrepreneurship. The study concluded that undergraduates exhibit higher proclivity toward non-agricultural ventures, recommending increased institutional support, practical exposure, and incentives to enhance youth engagement in agricultural entrepreneurship.