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Agripreneurship is a source of unique business opportunities, but it is underdeveloped and overlooked by mainstream entrepreneurship. Food For Mzansi reports how entrepreneurship can be successfully incorporated into the agricultural development space through capacity-building programs from all educational levels. Incorporating hands-on agripreneurial skills in universities, colleges, and training center is essential.

As we shared in our previous article titled ‘Pupils Trained on Farming, Making of Agripreneurs’, we are beginning to see these types of programs started in primary school. The implementation of school gardens and agricultural enterprises in Kakamega, Nairobi, and other counties is helping spread the importance of agriculture to young children. With this, education is starting to play a huge role in creating a new generation of agripreneurs.

The role of educationIISD shares how high-impact agriculture investments are needed for the Great Green Wall – Africa’s initiative that aims to address food insecurity and poverty. As such, getting more students to engage in these fields is important for the future. Across Africa, agricultural practices can be optimized and developed into a more fast-paced industry with the help of education. Getting access to training, subjects, and lessons, where agriculture is highlighted, can boost student interest, thus helping more people break into the field.

Education in agriculture, especially in Africa, can greatly impact the development of students who want to help their community. One of the students receiving an education from Bridge Uganda is called Elizabeth Namiiro and she comes from a farming family. She grew up in Magamaga and hopes to be an accountant to help in their rural community. She shares how her education is allowing her to access more information that can help her career and her family in their business. Her future accountancy degree can help her be an agripreneur with a focus on agri-accounting. This will give her the tools she needs to improve farm management and agricultural processes.

On the other hand, Rexford Akong and Bekele Hundie Kotu are students who studied the agricultural business and are proving just how education matters. They published a research study under IITA about Economic Analysis of Youth Participation in Benin. They found how the youth in Benin with education and training is encouraged to be agripreneurs. Development programs and agricultural training programs enable Benines youth to see the potential in agribusiness. They also found that the negative perception of agriculture is removed when the youth learn about it.

Agripreneurship in the future

Agripreneur is a field many wishes to explore. An entrepreneur whose main focus is the business of agriculture presents a wide variety of solutions and innovations that could help develop the sector. As more people in Africa lean towards the exploration of agribusiness, those in the education sector must do their best to support these interests.

Education is one of the factors that can affect the future of agripreneurship. It can mold young minds into finding interest in agriculture and lead to development in the field. Education can give students the tools they need to manage farms, find solutions, and create developments in the field of agriculture. In addition to this, education can enrich rural communities by teaching future agripreneurs modern agricultural techniques.

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