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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1

Background to the Study

In Nigeria, problem of poverty has for a long time been a cause of concern to
the government. Attention was initially focused on rural development and
town planning as practical means of dealing with the problem (Agu, 2013).
Youths in Nigeria suffer high unemployment due to lack of opportunities,
physical and psychological challenges resulting from poverty. Some youths
respond to these challenges by engaging in criminal or violent behaviour
while others suffer from despair or depression. Unemployment creates a
wide range of social ills and young people are particularly susceptible to its
damaging effects namely; lack of skills, low self-esteem, marginalization,
impoverishment and wasting of enormous human resources. These problems
associated with unemployment can be solved by empowering the youths
through agricultural development programmes which will enable them to
have opportunities for self employment in agriculture (Agu, 2013). According
to World Bank (2003), the bulk of the rural population has a high level of
illiteracy and unemployment and is generally poor. Poverty as measured by
low income tends to be at its worst in rural areas. The problems of
malnutrition, lack of education, low life expectancy and sub-standard housing
are prevalent in rural areas (International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD), 2012). This therefore means that rural areas lack all it takes in terms

of infrastructure to make life comfortable and raise standard of living of


people living in it.
Poverty is also characterized by a lack of participation in decision making
process and in civil and socio-cultural life. It is inseparably linked to lack of
access to or loss of control over resources. Without these resources, youths
have limited access to institutions, markets, employment opportunities and
public services. There is therefore need for specific measures to be taken in
order to address poverty among youths. The empowerment of youths
through agricultural development programmes will reduce poverty and
provide them with opportunities that will enable them to be gainfully
employed (Oyekale, 2011). Since collapse of oil boom of the 1970s, there has
been a dramatic increase in the incidence and severity of poverty in Nigeria,
arising in part from dwindling performance of the agricultural sector where a
preponderant majority of the poor are employed. Furthermore, poverty in
Nigeria has been assuming wider dimensions including household income
poverty, food poverty/insecurity, poor access to public services and
infrastructures, unsanitary environment, illiteracy and ignorance, insecurity
of lives and properties, and poor governance. In response to the dwindling
performance of agriculture in the country, governments have over the years
initiated numerous policies and programs aimed at restoring the agricultural
sector to its pride of place in the economy (International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA), 2005).

Schumpeter (1959) considered the entrepreneur as an innovator. He writes


that Entrepreneurship is the carrying out of new combination we call
enterprise; the individuals whose function is to carry them out we call
entrepreneurs. People, who get ideas for creating a new business, bring that
business into existence and then carry on the work of the enterprise, are
entrepreneurs (Jena 1989). Precisely, an entrepreneur is one who undertakes
to organize, manage, and assume the risks of a business. Even a small
business unit is an entrepreneur and his activities are the entrepreneurhip.
Entrepreneurs are significant because they have important effect on world
economy. An entrepreneur is an innovator, someone who transforms
innovations and ideas into economically viable entities; independent of
whether in the process she creates or operates a firm (Baumol 1993).
However, when the firm has been created, sometime they do not meet a
practicable sustainability; they are often times faced with problems and
when the problems occur; the entrepreneurship is logically affected not only
economically but also mentally and emotionally. Mambula & Sawyer (2004)
described that the strategies for meeting up development goals in this new
millennium

and

entrepreneurship

in
and

Africa
small

cannot

overlook

businesses

as

the
the

important
engine

for

role

of

growth.

Entrepreneurship in Nigeria really needs attention from different sectors to


help in every angle of its operation as it is one of the contributors of
economic and social development in most developing and developed
countries. The entrepreneurship business contributes to the economic and
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social

development,

bringing

about

employment

opportunities.

The

governments in developed countries help entrepreneurs with policies, plans


and programmes in turning around the old practices involved in setting up
and operating their businesses.
In Nigeria, according to Ikechi and Edward (2009), there was an estimate of
more than seventy percent of the entrepreneurship and small scale
industries employments in the country and more than fifty percent gross
domestic product created by entrepreneurship and small scale business.
Entrepreneurship businesses easily have the tendency to either failure or
success. An amount of entrepreneurs also have the tendency to survive
the cause when it results to failure. These causes or factors such as
economic recession, lack of access to credit facilities especially from financial
institutions, lack infrastructure, corruption and lack of support from
government, and more, results to failure. In as much as there are many
factors which challenge the survival and growth of entrepreneurship business
both in developing and developed countries, fund has always been known as
one of the most important factor among the problems of entrepreneurs. The
access to finance gives entrepreneurs great opportunity in developing and
operating their businesses and to get better technologies for production,
guaranteeing competitive advantage.
Ekpeyong (2002) wrote that the Nigerian government tried to support the
entrepreneurship and small business enterprise by creating the public sector;
a part of the social and economic of the society. This sector established
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business that serves other businesses (agencies) such as Nigerian Bank for
Credit (NBC) and Commerce, and Export Stimulation Loan Scheme, National
Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND), Peoples Bank, Community Bank,
etc. which was created to stand as pillar of support to small business
operators when facing financial challenges such as borrowing money in
setting up or growing their businesses, as well as organizing training
programme for people who have interest in going into any type of business
in Nigeria. Aiyedun (2004) wrote that governments should offer adequate
enabling environment for the private sector to invest and run in a free
market system. In developed countries, government and different business
incubators

greatly

support

the

entrepreneurship

and

small

business

operators because the achievement of better economies is owed to the


contribution of people or group of people who are into entrepreneurship or
small scale businesses.
1.2

Statement of the Research Problem

A research carried out by Nigerian authors, Okpara and Wynn (2007), on


small business development showed that the rate of their failure in
developing countries are higher than in developed countries. Carter and
Jones-Evans (2006) stated that the strategic problems of entrepreneurs
include lack of financial resources, marketing problems and customer
concentration, management and human resources, lack of systems and
controls, and technology skills. There are few studies on entrepreneurship
and company management especially in Africa where most of the
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entrepreneurial firms are very small and run in informal sector (Kiggundu,
2002).
In Nigeria entrepreneurs experience difficulties in developing and sustaining
effective organizational arrangement especially as the business moves from
the informal to the formal sector when it faces external threats like new
technology and, fluctuation in the political and macroeconomic environment,
during succession or when facing regional or global competition. Okpara and
Wyn (2007), Arinaitwe (2002) wrote that scholars have pointed out that
setting up a business enterprise is uncertain and cautioned that the
probability of small-business owners to succeed it past the five years is not
certain. Arinaitwe wrote that entrepreneurs will be faced with the risks of
lacking satisfactory managerial skills, technical know-how and legislature to
back up against market competition, lack of capital and in-accessibility of
loan to run the business. In Nigeria, the policies guiding loans in some
financial institution are not favorable to entrepreneurs, they are now left with
the only option of getting loans with high interest rate thereby putting their
business at the risk of breaking down, adding to other problems they
encounter in their businesses. The problem accordingly is to arrive at how
Entrepreneurs in Nigeria can be optimistic about being successful and
sustainable in entrepreneurship comparing them with Entrepreneurs in
developed economies.

1.3

Research Objectives
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The major objective of this study is to evaluate entrepreneurship innovation


and agricultural development. Other specific objectives include to;
i.
ii.

investigate the effects of youth empowerment on employment


examine the relationship between entrepreneurship education and

iii.

poverty alleviation
examine the relationship between entrepreneurial development and
standard of living

1.4

Research Questions

The undertaking of this study will beam a searchlight on the following


Research Questions:
i.

What

is

the

relationship

between

youth

ii.

employment generation?
Is there a relationship between entrepreneurship education and

iii.

poverty alleviation?
Does a relationship exist between entrepreneurial development and
standard of living?

1.5

Research Hypotheses

The researcher intends to test the following hypotheses:

empowerment

and

i.

H0:

There is no relationship between youth empowerment and

employment
generation
H1: There is a relationship between youth empowerment and
ii.

employment
generation
H0: There is no relationship between entrepreneurship education and
poverty
alleviation
H1: There is a relationship between entrepreneurship education and

iii.

poverty
alleviation
H0: There is no relationship
development and
H1: There is a
development and

1.6

exist

between

entrepreneurial

standard of living
relationship exist

between

entrepreneurial

standard of living

Significance of the Study

Previous researchers have been very divergent in their views about the
entrepreneurship innovation and agricultural development. Therefore, this
study is relevant based on the quest to evaluate entrepreneurship innovation
and agricultural development. The significance of this study shall uncover
the benefit and contributions of SMEs to the growth and development of
Nigerian economy. This study aspires to indicate the type of entrepreneurial
characteristics and business practices that an entrepreneur will need to
have; cultivate and/ or develop, in order to drive his or her venture forward
successfully. Besides, the gains of the research will be of vital importance to
the Nigerian economy. Once the discovery is completed, basic educational
programs can/will be developed to address the need as inputs into
entrepreneurship education. In addition, banks and institutions could use the
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result to predict SMEs success for loans and other support activities, as well
as enabling investors to judge the managerial balance of the ventures to
which they are called upon to commit themselves.
In addition, this study will also contribute to the extensive and on-going
research gathering of reliable and accurate information about entrepreneurs
in Nigeria. It will as such offer solid guidances on the combination of
entrepreneurial characteristics and business practices that will make some
entrepreneurs more successful than others.
1.7

Scope and Limitation of the Study

This

study

explores

and

evaluates

entrepreneurship

innovation

and

agricultural development. This study shall however be limited to selected


small scale farmers within Abeokuta, Ogun State.
1.8

Definition of Terms

The following definitions were used strictly for this study:


Small Scale Business: A small business is a business that is privately
owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low
volume of sales.
Performance: This is the fundamental relationship between the ability to do
the job in conjunction with motivational variables so to attain the hallmark of
improved performance for the organization.
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Employment generation: The process of creating and encouraging non


existing job for the unemployed.
Economic Growth: It is the process by which a nations wealth increase
over time
Strategic Management: It is about the strategies that managers carry to
achieve better performance. It also means the process of executing and
development competitive moves to enhance better performance
Entrepreneurial Skill: They are wide range of competence which is seen
and useful to entrepreneurs, these include knowledge, skills, personal traits,
etc. Skills and knowledge are particularly important to performance in
emerging

market

industry

and

may

impart

more

entrepreneurial

opportunities attractive as well as lead to successful entrepreneurs. Many


researchers have acknowledged the fact that management skills can be
acquired and personal qualities have a strong influence on the management
skills/competencies of the entrepreneur
Government: Can be seen as a group of people who govern, control, direct
other or manage the public affairs of a country, state, regions, areas, cities or
the likes.
Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs): Small and Medium Scale
Enterprises (SMEs) as defined by the National Council of Industries (2009)
refer to business enterprises whose total costs excluding land is not more
than two hundred million naira (N200,000,000.00) only.

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1.8

Operationalization of Research Variables

The following definitions were used strictly for this study:


Where: Skill Acquisition = (X1, X2, X3, X4)
X1 = Youth Empowerment
X2 = Entrepreneurship Education
X3 = Entrepreneurship Education
X4 = Entrepreneurial Development
Where: Business Venturing = (Y1,

Y2,

Y1 = Employment Generation
Y2 = Poverty Alleviation
Y3 = Standard of Living

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Y3, Y4)

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1

Introduction

This chapter is a review of existing literatures by other researchers which are


relevant to the area of the research being conducted. This chapter embodies
the

conceptual

framework

which

includes

definitions,

concepts,

and

terminologies related to the research study, the theoretical framework which


includes a review of various theories related to this research, and the
empirical framework made up of the conclusions drawn by researchers in the
area of interest concerning this research study.
2.2

Conceptual Framework

2.2.1 The Concept of Entrepreneurship


The term entrepreneur has been in existence since 16th and 17th century.
The word Entrepreneur is gotten from the French word entreprendre,
meaning to undertake. An entrepreneur is a person who undertakes to sort
out, control, manage and assume the risks of the business. Cited in a thesis
work, according to the French legal and economic literature, entrepreneur
was described as a person who is active and who get things done (Kuratko
and Hodgetts, 2004).
The entrepreneur is the insistent originator for transformation in the business
world. He or she is an independent thinker who has the boldness at all times

12

to be different in an environment of common dealings. There are some


similarities and many differences in literature of entrepreneurial research,
also, in the characteristics of entrepreneurs. The main point among these
characteristics is personal initiative, the ability to combine resources,
management skills, risk taking, a desire for autonomy while some other
characteristics includes aggressiveness, reality-based actions, opportunistic
behavior, competitiveness, goal-oriented behavior, confidence, intuitiveness,
ability to learn from mistakes and the ability to use human relation skills. The
definition of entrepreneur may be different from economic society to
another, because of the nature, development level, politics, economic policy
and

other

socio-economic

conditions.

In

essence,

the

entrepreneur

appreciated risk-taking, innovations, and maximizes opportunities and the


range of freedom to perform these functions varies for each economy.
Especially, it depends mostly on how much the economic policy permits and
enhance development of entrepreneurship The concept of entrepreneurship
is linked with several operations of innovation, risk bearing, identifying the
investment opportunities, deciding the opportunity to work excessively hard
on how to promote and set up the business enterprise, gathering the scarce
resources

required

for

production

and

distribution,

organizing

and

management of human and material resources to meet up with the set goal.
According to Drucker (1995) entrepreneurship is a perceptiveness to change
and the entrepreneur as one, who always searches for change, responds to

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and exploits it as an opportunity. Drucker notes that entrepreneurship is


practice behavior; it is a discipline and like any discipline, it can be learned.
Kuratko and Hodgetts (2004) noted that in the simplest of theoretical forms
of studying entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs cause entrepreneurship. That is,
E=F (e) states that entrepreneurship (E) is a function of entrepreneur (e). Hill
and McGowan (1999) opined that, entrepreneurship is seen as a process
which involves the effort of an individual (or individuals) in identifying viable
business opportunities in an environment and obtaining and managing the
resources needed to exploit those opportunities. Similarly, Timmons and
Spinelli (2004) see entrepreneurship as the function of being creative and
responsive

within

and

to

the

environment.

He

stated

further

that

entrepreneurship activity is a destabilizing force, which starts the process of


creative destruction which is the essence of economic development.
Ogundele (2007) defines entrepreneurship as the processes of emergence,
behaviour and performance of entrepreneurs. He notes that a focus on
entrepreneurship is a focus on the processes involved in the initiation of a
new organization, the behavior of such organization and its performance in
terms of profits made.
Aina and Salako (2008) described entrepreneurship as the willingness and
ability of an individual to seek out investment opportunities and takes
advantage of scarce resources to exploits the opportunities profitably. It is
the process of creating something new with value by devoting the necessary

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time and efforts, assuming the accompanying financial social risks at the end
receiving resulting reward. Entrepreneurship education is a purposeful
intervention

by

an

educator

in

the

life

of

the

learner

to

impact

entrepreneurial qualities and skills to enable the learner to survive in the


world of business.
Alberti, sciascia and poli (2004) define entrepreneurship education as the
structured formal conveyance of entrepreneurship competencies which in
turn refers to the concepts, skills and mental awareness used by individuals
during the process of starting and developing their growth oriented ventures.
Training, according to Mullins (2010), is the process of systematically
acquiring job related knowledge, skill and attitude in order to perform with
effectiveness and efficiency specific tasks in an organization. He stated
further that the acquisition of knowledge and skills during training is not
desired for its own sake in industrial and commercial enterprises, and that it
is utility that predisposes an organization to invest financial and material
resources in it. The skill required by entrepreneur can be classified into three
main

areas:

technical

skills;

business

management

and

personal

entrepreneurial skills. Technical skills involve such things as writing, listening,


oral presentation, organizing, coaching, being a team player, and technical
know-how. Business management skills include those areas involved in
starting,

developing

and

managing

an

enterprise.

The

personal

entrepreneurial skills differentiate an entrepreneur from a manager. Skills

15

included in this classification are inner control (discipline), risk-taking, being


innovative, being change-oriented, being persistent, and being a visionary
leader among others (Osuagwu, 2006).
There is general agreement by researchers in the field of entrepreneurship
that more emphasis should be placed on entrepreneurship education and
training as opposed to business education. Business education has a more
limited coverage than entrepreneurship education and training, which
include additional topics, such as innovation and risk-taking, for example.
The consortium for entrepreneurship education (2004) point out that
entrepreneurship education is a life-long learning process and consist of five
stage namely, basic, competency awareness, creative application, start-up
and growth as depicted. Poverty is the state of being very poor. Nweze and
Ojowu (2002) assert that poverty can be categorized into three namely:
absolute poverty, relative poverty and subjective poverty. These three
concepts formed the basis of poverty alleviation programmes in Nigeria.
Absolute poverty is a situation where an individual or household is faced with
limited financial resources and as a result, unable to meet his/her or its basic
necessities of life such as food, clothes, shelter and health is the nucleus of
our study.
2.2.2 Entrepreneurs as Agent of Social and Economic Change
Entrepreneurs as agent of social and economic change were focused upon by
Ogundele and Olayemi (2004) in their call for Nigeria education curricula to
16

concentrate on developing Entrepreneurial capabilities in Nigerians, in all


Nigerian educational institutions. The objective is to ensure that Nigerian is
not left behind in the global competition that is knowledge managed. Such
Entrepreneurship Training will equip the people with skills for constant
improvement and innovation in their undertaken. The entrepreneurship
development program in Nigeria is designed to help an individual in
strengthening his/her entrepreneurial motivation and in acquiring skills and
capabilities necessary for playing his/her entrepreneurial role effectively.
Wiklund and Shepherd (2003), Luthje and Frank (2002), Charney and Liecap
(2000) all put forward that a positive correlation exists between education
and business creation.
Based on Timmons and Spinelli (2004) and others who are of the opinion that
entrepreneurship can be learnt, Kuratko (2003) observes the decision by
many tertiary institutions in Nigeria to design and implement relevant
entrepreneurship

teaching

programme.

Entrepreneurial

training

and

education encourages Nigerian to become jobs creator rather than job


seekers. It also equips them with skills for constant improvement and
innovations in their undertaken.
Ogundele (2004) observes that for the success of National Economic
Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS), Nigeria require a new
development approach which will release the best in the nation human
capital for the economic development effort. This Ogundele (2004) calls

17

spiritual capitalism, which will involve among others calling out the best from
every Nigerians. It will also involve individual self-development where
individuals are the key driver in developing themselves. These will be capped
by leadership with vision. One of the major thrusts of NEEDS is, growing the
private sector, and this calls for massive training and development of
indigenous entrepreneurs in Nigeria, hence the demand for refocusing on
training programme more importantly on entrepreneurship. It is commonly
believed that Entrepreneurship education is an absolute imperative that
would make a positive contribution to improving the entrepreneurial
orientation of the people.
Wiklund (1999) postulated that entrepreneurial orientation consist two
components,

namely,

action

orientation,

which

results

in

actual

entrepreneurial behaviour; and mental orientation or way of thinking of the


small business manager, which is not necessarily put into action. According
to Alberti et al. (2004), for effective Entrepreneurship education there should
be a relationship between the goals of Entrepreneurship programme, the
audiences to which the programme is delivered, the contents of the
Entrepreneurship courses or modules, the method of delivery or pedagogy,
and finally, the assessment that will be used.

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2.2.3 Effect of Entrepreneurship Education on Graduate Employment


in

Nigeria

According Asante, (2011) despite more than two decades of positive growth,
the

Nigerian

economy

is

yet

to

achieve

the

desirable

structural

transformation that is needed to move the country into the state of a


modern, industrialised and prosperous economy (JoyFM online, 2011; Raimi
and Towobola, 2011).
Evidently with the soaring unemployment rate in Nigeria, self- employment
and small enterprise initiatives are presently high on the countrys national
agenda, in the hope that they will provide alternative channels of
employment. Yearly, thousand of university graduates join the labour market
in search of gainful employment. The challenge is not only tackling the
already sizeable unemployed graduates, but also of absorbing the new
entrants into the labour market. Underlying this situation is the fact that the
training which tertiary students receive has not been fully successful in
equipping them with desirable skills and competencies required for job
creation and self employment (Adarkwa, 2010).
Recently, the relationship between business ownership (or self-employment)
and unemployment has received considerable attention from policy makers.
Persistently, high unemployment rates coupled with limited economic growth
have

triggered

policy

makers

into

giving

greater

importance

to

entrepreneurship and self-employment as ways to foster economic progress


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and reduce unemployment. Raimi, Shokunbi and Peluola, (2010) reports a


dynamic relationship between self-employment and unemployment rates. On
one hand, unemployment rates may stimulate start-up activity of selfemployment. On the other hand, higher rates of self-employment may
indicate increased entrepreneurial activity, reducing unemployment in
subsequent periods. The biggest weakness of the Nigerian economy is the
chronic joblessness of a vast proportion of the people. It is reported that as
many as 50% of graduates who leave Nigerian universities and polytechnics
will not find jobs for two years after their national service, and 20% of them
will not find jobs for three years (Raimi, Shokunbi and Peluola, 2010).
This statistics is considerably high compared to the global unemployment
rate and even that of South Africa where a third of the active labour force is
unemployed (Asante, 2011). However, a similar statistics from Nigeria is
even worse with as many as 80% of graduates finding it difficult to get
employment

annually

(Adejimola

and

Olufunmilayo,

2009).

This,

notwithstanding, Nigerian high unemployment rate appears to lend support


to recent research findings that revealed that the capabilities being
developed in graduates by the higher education process in general are not
matching with the national manpower needs (Afenyadu, 2001).
This is a serious development and a puzzling one, given the numerous
educational reforms that have been put in place in Nigeria (NACVET, 2010).
Besides, given the importance of entrepreneurship in helping to solve

20

problems of unemployment, Government agencies and Scientists have


become engaged in all aspects related to new companies and new business
owners in recent decades. Yet, as Yahya (2011) documents, the empirical
evidence linking unemployment to entrepreneurial activity is fraught with
ambiguities. While some studies report that greater unemployment serves as
a catalyst for start-up activity (Adarkwa, 2010), still others have found that
unemployment reduces the amount of entrepreneurial activity (Raimi and
Towobola, 2011). Wiklund and Shepherd (2003) argue that the ambiguities
reflect the conflicting forces, namely, a two-way causation between changes
in the level of entrepreneurship and that of unemployment.
2.2.4 Challenges facing Entrepreneurship Education in Nigeria
The challenges facing entrepreneurship education in Nigeria are multifaceted.

The

first

is

that

entrepreneurship

education

curriculum

is

ineffectively implemented hence the difficulty in achieving its goals neither


could its curriculum objectives like other specialised education been
translated into practical realities at the implementation stage for the benefits
of learners because of insufficient experts in the field of entrepreneurship,
absence of relevant text-books on entrepreneurship education/program,
ineffective style of instruction, poor funding and insufficient teaching gadgets
for practical-oriented training (Osuagwu, 2006).
The second challenge facing entrepreneurship education in meeting its
policy goals is traceable to lateness in starting entrepreneurship education in
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Nigeria. This is premised on the argument that introduction of anything new


in human society takes time to develop. Available facts in the literature
indicate that United States of America introduced entrepreneurship into the
curriculum of higher education in 1947. By the 1990s, the literature indicates
that the number tertiary institutions that mounted entrepreneurship program
increased to 1,050 schools, as against 300 in the 1980s (Mullins, 2010).
Another key challenge stifling the growth of entrepreneurship education is
inadequacy of competent lecturers in the field of entrepreneurship to make
the course practically interesting and goal-oriented as opposed to too much
focus

theoretical

instructions.

Nweze

and

Ojowu

(2002)

note

that

professionals in the education sector are having serious nightmare on the


theoretical contents of entrepreneurship education being delivered to the
undergraduates across Nigerian higher institutions. There is also serious
deficiency in the books, hand-outs and other learning materials made
available to undergraduate student offering entrepreneurship education
course in the Nigerian tertiary institutions. Aina and Salako (2008) observed
that because of absence of standard learning materials/text-books on
entrepreneurship education, the students had no option other than to fall
back on scanty hand-outs/training manuals made available by course
instructors. Poor funding of entrepreneurship education in particular and the
education

sector

in

general

has

been

serious

challenge

to

entrepreneurship, both at the institutional level and the nation at large. This
funding

constraint

has

adversely
22

affected

the

implementation

of

entrepreneurship education curricula, a fact attested to by National


Universities Commission and counterpart supervisory agencies. Another
serious challenge facing entrepreneurship education is ineffective style of
teaching that stresses theoretical writing of business plan in groups of 10-15
students, a learning/teaching style that has been seriously criticised and
flawed in the literature (Oluremi and Gbenga, 2011).
Another

challenge

is

that

undergraduate

students

perceive

the

entrepreneurship education as one of the unnecessary elective or general


courses forced on them by their respective school/departmental authorities
in order to fulfill graduation requirements. Based on the wrong mindset
painted above, they display very weak participation in all entrepreneurship
activities. Besides, the echoes of unpleasant experiences of self-employed
graduates send wrong signals to undergraduates taking a compulsory course
in entrepreneurship education in several tertiary institutions. Some of the
negative feedbacks from self-employed individuals to those still in school
include:

multiple

taxes,

harsh

business

regulations,

inadequate

infrastructural facilities for small businesses, high rate of inflation, labour


regulations and stringent laws on starting/ running a business. Other
unpleasant challenges facing individuals that opted for self-employment after
receiving entrepreneurship education/training in Nigeria include: constraint
of access to bank credits, lack of government interest in promoting small
businesses, incidences of harassment/extortion by government officials, poor

23

state of infrastructural facilities and poor telecommunication system


(Onuoha, 2005).
2.2.5 Small Business as a Seedbed of Entrepreneurship
Seedbed refers to the preparing of soil for the sowing of seeds so that we
may have good crop. Small business is regarded as a seedbed for
entrepreneurship as it provides conducive conditions for the emergence and
growth of entrepreneurs. Small-scale units employ available technology and
can be started with less investment. They are going to use local resources
and cater mainly to local demand. These units normally revolve round one
individual who is called upon to perform various roles. He is the owner,
manager and risk bearer and hence can be called an entrepreneur. The
emergence, growth and success of entrepreneurs are linked with the growth
of small business. The Government of Nigeria too has given small-scale
industry an important place in the framework of economic planning for
economic and ideological reasons. Thus setting up of more small scale units
will create more opportunities for entrepreneurial development and more and
more educated unemployed will come forward for setting up their own
enterprises. It will usher in an era wherein enterprising persons will assume
entrepreneurial career in future (Nwachukwu, 2009).
Small enterprises are called seedbed of entrepreneurship due to the
following reasons: small-scale enterprises can be started with lesser
investment, which can be contributed by the promoter or arranged from
24

friends and relatives; small-scale units carry on business on a small scale and
as such the element of risk is less; small-scale units are generally based on
local resources and as such there is no problem regarding their availability;
small-scale entrepreneur adopts labour intensive technology. Thus he
generates employment for himself as well as for others; small-scale units can
be located anywhere and thus help in the development of backward areas of
the country; small-scale units generally cater to local demand and necessary
modifications can be made in the products keeping in mind the changing
demand of people; small-scale units provide ample opportunities for
creativity and experimentation; small-scale units have shorter gestation
period and hence waiting period for getting return on investment is less;
these units are relatively more environmental friendly; small-scale units help
in building achievement motivation amongst entrepreneurs; small-scale units
are viewed favorably by the government and society because these help in
equitable distribution of income and wealth (William and Michael, 2012).
Keeping in mind the above potentials of small scale industry as a developer
of entrepreneurial talent, the government of Nigeria has facilitated this
sector by providing it with various concessions and incentives.
2.2.6 Importance of Small Scale Industries
Small-scale industries play an important role in industrial development of a
country. It is all the more important in case of developing countries like
Nigeria. The socio-economic transformation of Nigeria cannot be achieved
25

without the development of small-scale industries. It has been estimated


that the small-scale industries contribute a major percent of gross value of
output manufactured in the country. Their importance can be further
highlighted by noting that small-scale industries provided nearly five times
the employment as compared to the large-scale sector. Small-scale
industries

are

an

important

segment

of

the

economy

contributing

substantially in the form of production, employment and export (Nwachukwu,


009). The main advantages are as follows:
Generation of Employment: The small-scale industries are labour intensive
i.e. the ratio of labour to investment is very high in their case. A given
amount of capital invested in a small-scale industry provided more
employment than the same amount of capital invested in a large-scale
industry. Since capital is scarce and labour abundant in Nigeria, the
generation of employment is the advantage that can be put forward for the
support of small-scale industries in Nigeria. Moreover, these industries can
be set-up at the very doorstep of workers and, thereby, provide work for the
unemployed, more work for the underemployed and supplementary work for
the seasonally unemployed workers.
Self

Employment:

The

small-scale

industries

offer

almost

limitless

opportunities for self employment and hence are particularly suited to a


developing

country

like

Nigeria

where

unemployment and underemployment.

26

there

is

big

problem

of

Lesser Capital Requirement: Another advantage of small-scale industries is


that they need relatively lesser amount of capital than that required by largescale industries. As capital is very scarce in an underdeveloped country like
Nigeria, it may be used to greater advantage in small-scale sector.
Mobilisation of Capital: Small-scale industries not only make economies in
the use of capital but also mobilise capital that would not otherwise have
come into existence. Large-scale industries cannot mobilise the savings from
rural areas, while this task can be effectively accomplished by setting up a
network of small-scale industries in such areas.
Mobilisation of Entrepreneurial Skill: Another advantage of small-scale
industries is the lesser requirement of skill and expertise, which is also
scarce in a developing country like Nigeria. Further, large-scale industries
cannot utilise a number of entrepreneurs who are spread over small towns
and villages of the country. On the other hand, small-scale industries can
effectively mobilise such entrepreneurial skills.
Equitable Distribution of Income: Small-scale industries secure a more
equitable distribution of income and wealth. They are particularly suitable for
the fulfillment of the objective of social justice. This is ensured because the
ownership of small-scale industries is more widespread and they offer a
much longer employment potential as compared

to the large-scale

industries. The development of large-scale industries tends to concentrate


large incomes and wealth in a few hands.
27

Balanced

Regional

Development:

Small-scale

industries

utilise

local

resources, bring about dispersion of industries and promote balanced


regional development. The growth of large-scale industries on the other hand
have a tendency towards concentration of industries at a few places leading
to many evil consequences such as overcrowding, pollution, creation of
slums, etc. Concentration of industries at a few places is undesirable from
the point of view of national defence also, as during war times; there is a
greater risk of destroying different industries concentrated at one place.
Saving in Foreign Exchange: Other advantages of the small-scale industries
are the savings they offer in the scarce foreign exchange resources of the
country. Firstly, small-scale industries do not require much foreign exchange
resources for their establishment and secondly, these industries can
contribute to the foreign exchange resources of the country through adding
to exports.
Quick Investment: The time lag between the execution of investment project
and the start of production of goods is relatively short in case of small-scale
industries. These quick investment type of industries are particularly suitable
for developing countries like Nigeria.
Beneficial to large-scale industries: Large-scale industries can also prosper
and develop, if small-scale industries manufacture and supply their small
parts and semi-finished goods required by them. Infact, small-scale
industries are a must for the development of large-scale industries.
28

Other advantages: These industries also confer certain other social and
political benefits such as overcoming territorial immobility, reduction of
pressure on land, relieving congestion in urban areas, self-employment, etc.
2.2.7 Roles of entrepreneurs in the Nigerian economy
The role of entrepreneurs in economic development involves increasing per
capital output and income, initiating and constituting change in the structure
of business and society; this change is accompanied by growth and
increased output. Entrepreneurship facilitates the use of local raw materials
and other resources. Being relatively labour intensive, enterprise creates
substantial employment opportunities at low capital cost and being resilient,
flexible, can better adapt to unexpected changes in the economic and
financial environments. In agreeing with this, Salvatore and Riccardo (2010)
contended that the industrial future of Nigeria depends critically on the twin
pillar of a stable macro-economic environment based on a foundation of
proactive partnership between government and the public sector. Paying of
more taxes which enable government to provide basic amenities, mobilize
savings and investments, dispersal of industries, competition globally and
earning foreign exchange for the economy (Onuoha, 2005).
Stimulation of indigenous entrepreneurship in developing country like Nigeria
is made possible. Private individuals or groups are afforded the opportunity
to manage the businesses with minimal resources requirement. Parker
(2006) mentions that investment in small businesses help to transform

29

traditional sector. It modernizes the peoples perception of life and introduces


the use of machines instead of manual labour. Again, the skills of men are
modernized and synchronized with developments in the new industrial
sector. Another function of entrepreneurs in Nigerias economy is creation of
employment. In Nigeria of today, government cannot provide 100%
employment for the citizens; entrepreneurship has helped many to be
gainfully employed. It helps to reduce unemployment problem in the country
i.e., the root of all socio-economic problems. It leads to wealth creation.
Furthermore, utilization of resources is being accomplished. Resources that
might end up to be idle in the hands of people are effectively mobilized
(capital, skills etc.) and employed productively. More so, it also induces
backward and forward linkages which stimulate the process of economic
development in the country. It helps to link up various sectors of the
economy. It constitutes the market for Agriculture extractive and industrial
outputs. Also, it helps in diversifying economic activities but also in saving
foreign exchange for their mother country. It helps reduce the concentration
of economic power, stimulates economic equitable redistribution of wealth,
income and even political power in the interest of the country. It contributes
to regional activity and cooperation. It promotes Nigerias export trade,
reasonable quantity of products or services from Nigeria are sold in other
countries. Trade among member states of ECOWAS is expanding. Good
trades Relationship (import and export) are being fostered due to the factor
of comparative cost advantage. According to Robsin, Haugh and Obeng
30

(2009), he states that some of the economic contributions of entrepreneurs


include: i. Interdependence of business: - No business is an entity on its own
which does not interact. It must buy from other firms and sell either to
different firm or customers in competition. ii. Maintenance of competition:- in
a dynamic environment or an age of rapid change, a globalize world,
competition can be the vehicle of change, through innovation or through
improvement. Competition is needed to preserve a system of free and
independent

enterprise.

Competitive

capitalism

insures

freedom

of

enterprise which provides for individual creativity as well as a livelihood for a


large segment of the population. Innovation is, new idea generation,
inventions, improvement are needed to remain in a global world. There is a
Japanese proverb which says Fall seven times. It means innovation is
required to remain competitive which are all needed to develop the economy.
iii. Rural-Urban migration:- by providing employment for rural areas will
reduce the incidence of urban migration. iv. Better Standard of living:increase in demand , in supply of large quantities of goods and services as a
result of numerous economic activities will in turn result in a better standard
of

living

for

the

people

(Saunders,

Lewis

and

Thornhill,

2007).

Entrepreneurship as a distinct factor of production contributes to the


economic development of an economy in many significant ways as
mentioned above. The overall role of entrepreneurship in economic
development of an economy is put as an economy is the effect for which
entrepreneurship is the cause.
31

2.2.8 Problems of Entrepreneurs


Entrepreneurs all over the world face some general problems, however
between developing and developed countries variations exist.
Financial Problem: Alabi and Osasogie (2006) wrote that the key problem
facing most entrepreneurs in Nigeria is that of lack of finance in new or an
already existing business. In his view banks especially commercial banks
which we expect to launch platform for financing the development of
entrepreneurship or small and medium scale industries by the providing
loans have failed to support them adequately. He also wrote that the stiff
collateral security demanded by the bank often means entrepreneurs loses
the chances of obtaining the loans because they are unable to meet up the
demand by the bank which worth more than the amount they want to borrow
from the bank. He added that high interest rate charges on loans by banks
scares off potential small and medium scale entrepreneurs. Aruwa (2006)
wrote that one of the factors that divide industrialized economies from
those in sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of access to credit. If a small business
owner in the US, UK or Western Europe has a good business idea or seeking
fund to expand an already existing business, he has chances that a local
bank will be able to give him loan on reasonable terms.
Isaac, Visser, Friedrich and Brijlal, (2007) stated that banks are main source
of finance for many different sizes and types of small firms in developed
countries like in the UK, example is the result of a survey I centre for
business research 1996 which showed that more than 50% of small and
32

medium sized companies are supported financially by banks. Good


agreements

for

financing

business,

having

access

to

capital

and

acquaintance with the loaner or loaners exist as essential characteristics to


the success of the business. Kuratko and Hodgetts (2004) stated that out of
seventy-two percent of entrepreneurs he studied in Nigeria well thought-out
that lack of finance is a major problem to develop and run their business.
Management Problem: Entrepreneurship provides the basic energy that
moves the present market economy as new business around the world
encourages competition and economic growth. At the early stage of
entrepreneurship, about a quarter has a problem either on time control,
setting goals, measuring performance, finding and retaining qualified
employees, accessing and getting useful information. Lthje and Frank
(2002) explained that in most developing countries that small business
owner have the problem of mastering the art and science of managing their
business which have posed problem to economic growth because they pay
less attention to acquiring knowledge in managerial skills towards their
business. The business management requires competent training in financial
control, production, marketing, and leadership. Entrepreneurs need to have
management skills to be able to set up and run their entrepreneurship as
they need a collection of competencies to manage the running of the
business. The management of business requires competent training in
leadership, financial control, production marketing, planning, record keeping
and more.
33

Matanmi and Awodun (2005) acknowledged that the skills to venture indicate
the technical and business situations required for company operation.
Entrepreneurs require compilation of proficiency for them to manage the
functions like financial control and market management, which require
experience and education, research and development.
Akande (1994) explained that management problem has been known as one
of the problems in entrepreneurship in Nigeria, even though it is mostly a
part that will be played by entrepreneurs but the government still needs to
provide training programmes to enhance their knowledge in business
management. In developed countries, the programmes on entrepreneurship
are provided freely for all entrepreneurs and even the aspiring entrepreneurs
are encouraged as long as there is good business idea on ground, in 1996,
the number of entrepreneurs with post secondary school qualification
increased, around half of those that start new business had post secondary
education.
Marketing Problem: Carter and Jones (2006) stated that in marketing
conditions, small business enterprises have numerous challenges because of
their lack of knowledge for the proper technique related with procedures in
marketing. Carter and Jones (2006) further advised that the knowledge and
strengthening of small business marketing will benefit from factors like
attitude and personality of the owner manager, also the inbuilt pliability and
efficiency of small business management. Cahna (2008) classified lack of
marketing orientation as a major factor for failure in business. An
34

entrepreneur that does not have the skills or the ideas about marketing in
business tends to face marketing problem. Lthje and Frank (2002) Ability to
cost effectively, advertise and actual selling are two top problems in
marketing area. Among other problems in marketing for an entrepreneur are
developing a market plan, identifying new opportunities, branding the firm,
competition from large businesses, getting positive publicity, identifying the
customers, implementing marketing strategies, understanding the customer,
overcoming negative perceptions, effectively networking, getting business
from large corporation, getting the decision maker, and developing new
products and services.
Technology Problem: The technology problem for entrepreneurship has a
lot of causes that worsen it. Basic physical infrastructure needed for
economic development like good transport facilities, power supply are in a
very bad shape in most developing countries consequently posing a problem
to entrepreneurship. An example is the damage of equipment as a result of
power surges and down time caused by unavailability of electric power
during production hours. Cogbun and Adeya (2000) wrote about the
weakness of infrastructure for information and communication in most
African countries. Right or the ability to use information infrastructure is
measured as an essential provision for general socio-economic improvement
in this time of globalization and information economy, though these
infrastructures are in different level of exhibition in African countries. David
and John (2005) explained technology as one problem in small business
35

enterprises in Nigeria. Okpara and Wynn (2007) wrote that it is pathetic that
access to internet services, modern information and

communication

technology is still regarded as accessible to limited categories of people in


Nigeria. According to Aiyedun, (2004), promoting entrepreneurship in a
country needs government provision of efficient communication, software
development, water supply, electric power supply, rural wireless telephony
and software development, road networks, vocational training, water supply
and boreholes, simple tools and equipment, good telecommunication
alternative energy source.
2.2.9 Other Common Problems of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria
Some Entrepreneurship ceases to exist within the initial three to six years of
its existence while some struggle to survive up to ten years. These are
caused by numerous reason which few will be mentioned like lack of
infrastructures, irregular power supply, conducive educational and technical
environment, lack of research and development, unfriendly fiscal policies,
excess taxes and levies rates, inconsistencies of policies, high cost of funds
due to high charges from bank in their interest rate, limited access to a long
term fund, lack of skill and experience required, insecurity, competition with
foreign products, restricted access to market, high cost of production as a
result inadequate infrastructure, limited access to a long term fun, poor
product quality output, lack of training or development for their staff (Okpara
and Wynn, 2007).

36

2.2.10

Policies of Nigerian government on entrepreneurship

development
The Federal Government in collaboration with foreign bodies continues to
make

capital

available

to

SMEs.

For

instance,

some

international

organizations since mid-1980s have continued to play vital roles in providing


foreign capital to some SMEs in Nigeria. Such organization includes World
Bank,

African

Development

Bank

(ADB)

and

International

Finance

Corporation (IFC). It could be seen that entrepreneurship business was


hitherto neglected in Nigeria. When the government realized that large-scale
business cannot operate in all aspects of the nations economy, small and
medium scale entrepreneurship business became recognized and certain
schemes were established to take care of their development and survival.
Some of the agencies established by government to aid entrepreneurship
development in Nigeria include: the Nigerian Export Promotion Council
(NEPC); National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND); the National
Directorate of Employment (NDE); among others.
2.2.11

Prospects of entrepreneurs in Nigeria

According to Scott and Venkateraman (2000), the prospects for small


enterprise development are quite bright. He further asserted that, it is just a
matter of time; Nigeria will attain the golden height in the development of
entrepreneurship. That can be achieved if the government does not relent in
its current efforts. The Federal Government has promulgated schemes and
37

policies to curb hindrance to the development of small-scale industries since


independence. One among these was the launching of the National
Entrepreneurship Development Fund with a huge sum of money being set
aside for the development of small industries. Entrepreneurs have always
found it difficult to get seed capital (fund needed to start a business) from
financial institutions especially the banks. Some of the schemes and policies
established for the development of small scale industries include the
following: Small Scale Industries Credit Scheme, Small Scale Graduate
Employment Programmes, etc. The small scale industries credit scheme
provided debt capital for medium and long term projects. This scheme is the
main source of purely direct government financial assistance to small scale
businesses. All the States of the federation operate this scheme which is
normally under the supervision of the various States Ministries of Commerce
and Industries. 2. Small Scale Industries and Graduate Employment
Programmes:

The

Small

Scale

Industries

and

Graduate

Employment

Programmes (SSIGEP) is designed to encourage and aid unemployed


Nigerians to set up and run their own business. The directorate gives
applicant loan, the value of which ranges between N5, 000.00 and N35,
000.00. Before qualifying for this loan, an applicant is to submit to the NDE a
comprehensive visibility report of the intended business, the amount of loans
needed, names and addresses of two guarantors and his own curriculum
vitae.

38

2.2.12

Agricultural Development Programmes for Rural Youths

Empowerment in

Nigeria

According to Oyekale (2011), youths have great roles to play in agricultural


development in Nigeria as they are considered to be the active working
group. The various governments in Nigeria have in the past introduced
various agricultural development programmes for the benefit of all citizens,
especially youths. Umeh and Odo (2002) noted that various states in Nigeria
have designed and executed several self-empowerment programmes to
enhance the economic empowerment of youths. These programmes include
Farm Settlement Schemes (FSS) intended to increase commodity output and
create employment for young school leavers;
i.

River Basin Development Authorities (RBDAs) for the purpose of

ii.

harnessing water resources for farmers;


Green Revolution Scheme (GRS) which encouraged all Nigerians in
both urban and rural areas to go into agriculture for both commercial

iii.

and provision of food for home consumption;


Fadama programme which was initiated in 1992 to enhance food self
sufficiency, reduce poverty, and create opportunities for employment

iv.

for youths in the rural areas; and


Agricultural Development Programmes (ADPs), among others (Oyekale,
2011).

It is unfortunate that young farmers club and farm settlement scheme are
no longer functioning effectively in involving youths in agriculture. In the
past, myriad of nonchalant policies and programmes of youths development
39

were initiated by various successive administrations in Nigeria with the aim


of uplifting the living standards of youths and make them self-reliant by
establishing their own businesses independently, but unfortunately all efforts
put in place by the predecessor administration were hampered by time
constraint. As a result of this phenomenon, thousands of youths are left to
hang around and search for what to do to survive with their families. In view
of this, government has embraced the culture of training the youths to do
certain work or to teach them how to handle farm implements or machines
to learn how to become specialists on fish pond farming; livestock and
poultry production; and irrigation as well as related dry season farming in
order to be self-reliant after graduation (World Bank, 2003).
It was reported by Adebayo (1999) that youths are not only energetic with
the ability to replace the older generation in agriculture, but are filled with
new innovations and technological competence to carry out commercial and
technological agriculture. Despite these attributes, youths in Nigeria
particularly rural youths have been ignored for a long time in agricultural
policies and programmes. One of the major setbacks of agricultural
development programmes is attributed to lack of the federal government to
actively involve youths in numerous agricultural development programmes
implemented over the years (Daudu, Okwoche and Adegboye, 2009). In spite
of attempts by successive regimes to improve the lot of Nigerian youths, the
condition of Nigerian youths still leaves a lot to be desired. A lot more needs
to be done in order to empower, re-energize and get them seriously involved
40

in the task of nation building and socio-economic development (Adebayo,


1999). Past attempts at addressing the problems of the youths were
characterized by much rhetoric and little in terms of concrete action. Even
the little that was being done lacked focus such that the results were
minimal, when not counterproductive. Problems associated with agricultural
development activities in Nigeria are the same as the problems faced by
youths development projects. These problems are:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.

lack of adequate funding;


lack of basic facilities/infrastructures;
execution of sub-standard projects;
fraud, dishonesty, and corruption in the society;
politics, rivalries and envy;
inability to accept change in traditional and cultural practices;
difficulty in accessing resources such as land, finance and market

viii.

information; and
Natural hazards such as flooding, among others.

The major reasons for the failure of agricultural development programmes in


Nigeria aimed at reducing poverty include programme inconsistency, poor
implementation, corruption of government officials and public servants, poor
targeting mechanisms and failure to focus directly on the poor, especially
youths (Egware, 1997). Literature indicates that there are economic, social
and environmental factors affecting rural youths involvement in agricultural
production in Nigeria. Economic factors include inadequate credit facilities,
low farming profit margins, and lack of agricultural insurance scheme, initial
capital and production inputs. Social factors include public perception about
farming and parental influence to move out of agriculture. Environmental
41

issues

include

inadequate

land,

continuous

poor

harvests

and

soil

degradation (Echebiri, 2005). Economic push factors include poor physical


infrastructure and social amenities in the rural areas, search for education
and skills acquisition, and the absence of desirable job opportunities.
Echebiri (2005) also noted other factors such as a general dislike of village
life or expulsion from rural communities resulting from the commitment of an
offense or

crime.

Akpan

(2010)

reiterated

that factors

constraining

agricultural performance of youths include technical constraints, resource


constraints, socio-economic constraints and organizational constraints.
Despite governments commitment and past interventions, agriculture sector
has been unable to realize its full potential due to inadequate supportive
infrastructure such as poor storage facilities, poor road network, inadequate
supply of electricity; inadequate budgetary provisions; environmental
degradation due to erosion; natural disasters such as flooding; weak
producer organizations; lack of collateral and access to credit facilities;
absence of a saving culture; ineffective marketing information; and lack of
adequate and quality breeds of livestock and improved varieties of crops.
Other major hindrances are inadequate researchextension linkages; illegal,
weak monitoring control and surveillance systems (Adebayo, 1999).
However, youth participation in agriculture sector in Nigeria is very low,
largely because the sector has been made highly unattractive due to risks,
costs, lack of funding and incentives, inadequate information, technology,
policy inconsistence, ineffective marketing, inefficiency and its labor42

intensive nature. As such, motivating the youths to view agriculture as a


career opportunity will require a multilevel intervention. In the first instance,
those within the school system must be targeted. Secondly, those outside
the school system must be lured and sensitized. How should this be done?
They should be taught by delivering age-appropriate information inside and
outside the formal school system, adequate training is also necessitated. The
absence of agriculture from the curriculum, particularly at the compulsory
levels of education should be addressed (Adekunle, Oladipo, Adisa, Fatoye,
2009). Constraints to agricultural development effectiveness also include
policy instability, policy inconsistencies, narrow base of policy formulation,
poor policy implementation, and weak institutional framework for policy
coordination (IITA, 2005).
Funds meant for agricultural production hardly get to the grassroots for use
by the beneficiaries. Such funds are diverted or put into personal pockets for
solving individual problems rather than used for agricultural development. A
review of past government policies in agriculture show that in the prestructural adjustment period, sector-specific agricultural policies were
designed to facilitate agricultural marketing, reduce agricultural production
costs, and enhance agricultural product prices as incentives for increased
agricultural production. Major policy instruments included those targeted to
agricultural commodity marketing and pricing, input supply and distribution,
input price subsidy, land resource use, agricultural research, agricultural
extension and technology transfer, agricultural mechanization, agricultural
43

cooperatives, agricultural water resource and irrigation development (Akpan,


2010). It should be noted that previous poverty reduction programmes in
Nigeria did not fully achieve their objectives. It is also important to note that
poverty problem in Nigeria is largely a rural phenomenon. Also, higher
incidence of poverty profile in Nigerias rural areas have been traced to some
environmental

problems

associated

with

agricultural

production,

high

vulnerability to health hazards, low level of education, high infertility rate,


lack of access to improved seeds and inputs, and poorly developed social
infrastructural facilities, among others. Similarly, due to lack of appropriate
insurance against income shocks, rural poverty is often worsened because
farmers dispose their productive assets such as land, livestock, etc. in order
to meet immediate consumption needs (Adekunle et. al, 2009). Also, farming
households face serious risks from inadequate rains/drought, floods,
degraded land, input shortages, disease outbreak and low prices for
agricultural products.
2.2.13

Strategies

to

Effective

Participation

of

Youths

in

Agricultural Development Programmes in Nigeria


Many of the government initiated programmes aimed at reducing poverty
had various impacts on poverty alleviation. For example, the establishment
of the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) was not
only a radical departure from the previous programmes, but also recognized
the complementaries associated with basic needs such as food, shelter,

44

potable water, etc. DFRRI had tremendous impact in rural areas of Nigeria.
For instance, between the time of inception in 1986 and 1993, DFRRI had
completed over 278,526 km of roads. Over 5,000 rural communities
benefited from its rural electrification programme. DFRRI also impacted
positively on food production (Akpan, 2010). Poverty reduction programmes
will have to adopt a holistic approach involving the three tiers of government
and the civil society for it to be sustainable. Given the nature of the social
structure

in

rural

areas,

government,

NGOs,

international

agencies,

organized private sector and households (including individuals) could play


active part in the provision of basic social services (Adebayo, 1999).
The institutional framework for poverty alleviation in the country need to be
revisited, although the present government had done a lot in this direction
by rationalizing some of the institutions involved. The response is to
encourage partnerships with the education sector to integrate agriculture
into primary and secondary school curricula. Its broad-based and compulsory
inclusion with the appropriate resources will help to motivate youths towards
having a more favorable view of employment opportunities in the agriculture
sector. Similarly, youths outside the formal education system must also be
targeted and encouraged to take up agriculture as a business. This may be
done through a comprehensive, national out-of-school livelihoods project
designed to meet the needs and expectations of today's youths (Suriname,
undated). There ought to be the creation of ongoing initiatives to support
youths in agricultural enterprises, and opportunities to showcase their
45

successes in order to attract more young people. There should also be the
incorporation of information communication technologies such as the
Internet, mobile phones, computers, and global positioning systems,
associated or not with traditional communication technologies such as radio,
television, print and video. With this in mind, the emerging Youth in
Agriculture Strategy must demonstrate a clear understanding of the youth's
affinity for technology, efficiency and a strong voice in the decision-making
processes. The strategy must also emphasis the need for the incorporation of
agriculture in the regular curriculum (Onwubiko, 2011).
There is an urgent need to remove all visible constraints in gaining access to
land, credit, training, information and new technologies by the youths. It is
also necessary to expand access to agro-enterprise knowledge to secondary
and tertiary institutions so as to create and expand rural job opportunities,
build capacity and promote agro entrepreneurship among the youths thus
reducing

migration

to

urban

areas.

Involving

youths

in

agricultural

development and decision making processes is key to ensuring sustainable


development in Nigeria, and framing this within the context of ICTs and
entrepreneurship provides a valuable dimension to the discourse of
agricultural modernization (Agu, 2013). Sustainable agricultural development
in developing countries like Nigeria to uplift young small-scale farmers and
create

sustainable

rural

economy

requires

access

to

productive

infrastructures such as land, roads, electricity, marketing facilities, irrigation


facilities,

small-scale

agro-processing
46

technologies,

credit

institutions,

specialized agricultural careers across the value chains, etc. The sector is
seen as highly unattractive due to ignorant assumptions which often times
limit it to labour-intensive engagement; ignoring many other professional
and entrepreneurial opportunities across the value chain (Obert, 2012).
Promotion and support of advocacy work that is aimed at creating
entrepreneurial awareness among youths about countless opportunities
existing across the value chain remains paramount. The following are some
recommendations for increasing youths involvement in agriculture:
i.
ii.

Improving access to training and capacity development;


Improving training at the primary and secondary school level using

iii.
iv.
v.

best practices;
Linking school agricultural operations with general curriculum;
More opportunities for on-farm training for youths;
Enterprise development training particularly in value added activities

vi.

such as food processing and packaging;


Improving easy access to resources such as land, capital, technology

vii.

and information;
Facilitating access to and encouraging the use of appropriate

viii.

technologies;
Developing a data base of agencies that can provide access to youths

ix.
x.

on information in agriculture;
Facilitating market opportunities;
Providing targeted marketing opportunities for primary and valueadded agricultural products produced by young entrepreneurs through

xi.

special arrangements with schools, hotels, etc;


Providing motivation and improving the image of agriculture by
updating policies and programmes;

47

xii.

High yielding crops should be developed and disseminated to the

xiii.
xiv.

youths for increased productivity;


Revolving interest free loans from Central Bank of Nigeria is advocated;
Graduates of agriculture should be engaged in championing policies,

xv.

programmes and issues related to agriculture.


Facilitating networking among youths by providing incentives to

xvi.

encourage collaboration and group activity of youths; and


States, local governments and private sectors should be involved in
developing the agriculture sector to enhance its sustainability.

Government will review and produce an appropriate youth development


policy that outlines measures to reduce youth migration from rural to urban
areas in order to sustain the agricultural human resources requirement and
empower youths. In order to attract youths to agriculture, attitudes must
change among rural communities to perceive it as a business and make it
commercially viable.
2.2.14

Agriculture as a Solution for Unemployment

In order to eradicate unemployment and poverty in Nigeria, innovative


methods need to be used to successfully tackle unemployment and poverty.
In

Nigeria,

tackling

unemployment

requires

development

implementation of programs that will directly benefit

and

the poor, by

restructuring sources of Nigeria's gross domestic product to significantly


include variety of industries that are labor intensive, such as cottage
industries. Improvement in agricultural production by making land available
to private and public organizations to set up industries in the most
48

economically depressed areas of Nigeria, and providing training in setting up


industries (especially cottage industries) to unskilled or economically
deprived Nigerians would make ownership of small scale industries a viable
source of employment opportunities and building wealth for many Nigerians.
In addition, businesses and governmental entities can also be encouraged
via incentives to locate industries that are labor intensive in areas with the
highest incidences of poverty, which will usually be the rural areas of Nigeria,
as a means of providing employment opportunities to these citizens.
Successive government in Nigeria has always initiated programmes towards
promoting agriculture to guarantee

food security and reduce youth

unemployment. However, these programmes have not yielded the desired


results due to corruption, structural weakness, mismanagement and undue
politicization. The new agricultural policy of the Federal government of
Nigeria, if properly implemented, will herald in a new policy direction via new
policy strategies that will lay the foundation for sustained improvement in
agricultural productivity and output.
Functional investment by individuals, government and the organized private
sector in agriculture will help solve the problems of unemployment and
poverty in Nigeria. One of the main objectives of agricultural activities is to
provide food for man. Agriculture provides employment opportunities, raw
materials for industries and foreign exchange earning to Nigeria. It has been
reported that in Nigeria today over 65% of the population derived its income
from livestock rearing, crop farming, forestry or fishing. Agriculture has many
49

branches which allow people to specialized and gain employment in those


fields. Some branches of agriculture includes Agronomy, Soil science, Animal
science,

Agricultural

engineering,

Agricultural

economics,

Agricultural

extension education, home economics, Horticulture, Forestry, Fisheries,


Veterinary Medicine etc. Agricultural graduates can be gainfully employed in
Banks, Agricultural Research institute, Schools, Universities, Private farms,
Nigerian

Agricultural

Insurance

Corporation,

Local,

State/Federal

Department / Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Development Programmes


(ADPS) and above all can be self employed. The self employed graduates can
earn his/her income from livestock enterprises, crop production and function
as an Agricultural consultant.
2.3

Theoretical Framework

Several theories abound to serve as platform for the explanation of the


nature, processes, manifestations and variables of entrepreneurship.
2.3.1 Jack-of-All-Trades Theory
According to the analysed literature, the theories of self-employment were
classified into the following groups: a) economic (occupational choice theory;
portfolio selection theory; utility maximization theory;Jack-of-All-Trades
theory;

"pull"

and

"push"

schools)

and

sociological

-psychological

(disadvantage, cultural, "middleman minority, job satisfaction theories,


Maslow theory). Economic theories are characterized by the fact that they
complement each other and that the main factor which leads to persons
determination to start own business, i.e. expected income, is considered with
50

multidimensional approach, i.e. occupational choice and Jack-of-All-Trades


theories examine the income through the prism of skills and abilities; the
portfolio selection theory through the risks assumed; utility maximisation
theory through the gain of maximal benefits; push and pull schools
through the business cycles in the country.
Sociological and psychological theories analyze the person's psychological
state which strengthens the individual motivation to become self-employed
person. It appeared that economic and sociological-psychological theories of
self-employment may be attributed to pull and push forces. The group
pull forces include economic theories which ground persons desire to
become self-employed person on such factors as future revenue/profit, new
possibilities for business during business-cycle recovery/take-off phase, while
the sociological and psychological theories grounds it on such factors as the
need to pursue of their dream implementation, promotion of their culture in
the foreign country. Group of push forces include the economic theories of
self-employment that consider the business cycle recession phase as
decisive factor, during which unemployment significantly increases, while the
sociological and psychological theories consider discrimination in the labour
market and dissatisfaction with the current conditions in the hired
employment as the most important factors. The presumptions of selfemployment growth were identified: the pursuit of greater financial benefits,
discrimination in the labour market, dissatisfaction with the current situation

51

in the labour market, implementation possibility of personal goals and


desires, possibility to avoid the unemployment.
2.3.2 Disadvantage theory
The theory explains unequal participation of a person in the labour market,
i.e. most sensitive to labour market changes labour market force (women,
youth, elderly, disabled, ethnic minorities, persons of different race,
immigrants and unemployed) as a means to avoid unemployment, choose
self-employment. Light (1979) identified barriers (unemployment, business
cycles, poverty, discrimination and excessive urbanization (surplus of
immigrants from rural areas)), which essentially had a positive effect on a
person's determination to become self-employed person. The disadvantage
theory states that workers with low labour market opportunities, become
self-employed more often, however, the theory argues at the same time that
self-employed

persons

are

reluctant

to

become

entrepreneurs.

This

preposition is referred to the theory based on the fact that individuals treat
self-employment as a "survival strategy", rather than generator of ideas or
source of higher income.
2.3.3 Cultural Theory
The disadvantage theory is supplemented by cultural theory which explains
the self-employment growth among ethnic minorities, representatives of
other race or emigrants. Cultural theory is one of the oldest theories that can
explain the differences arising among entrepreneurs. Its pioneer Max Weber
(1930) argues that differences between entrepreneurs in each country
52

emerged due to the existing distinctive cultural norms and values. Lights
(1972) cultural theory states that some immigrants are more likely to go into
business than others because of their socio-cultural origins. Cultural theory
argues that ethnic minorities and immigrants have cultural characteristics:
commitment to hard work, membership of a minority community, economical
livelihood, risk-taking, social values, loyalty and unity as well as the tendency
toward self-employment (Masurel, Nijkamp, Vindigni, 2004; Voler, 2007).
These features provide national minorities with resources which facilitate and
encourage people to become self-employed (E. Fregetto, 2004). According to
R. Q Agrawal, M. Chava (1997), minority business is unique because of its
history, and often becomes a new niche in a foreign country to start own
business.
2.3.4 Middleman Minority Theory
Presumptions

of

both

the

disadvantage

and

cultural

theories

are

complemented by the third one, i.e. middleman minority theory (pioneer


Blalock (1967) by E. Bonacich, 1973). Researchers E. Vinogradov, L. Kolvereid
(2006), the McEvoy, K. Hafeez, (2007) in their study tried to explain why the
ethnic minorities, immigrants and other race representatives prefer selfemployment by using "middleman minority" theory. "Middleman minority
concept is used to describe national minorities (usually immigrants) who are
victims of discrimination and has no command chain status in society
(O'Brien, DJ, HS Fugit, 1982). McEvoy, Hafeez (2007) argues that "middleman
minority" theory states that a certain minority group exists as service
53

suppliers to consumers or ethnic minorities that do not engage in the


business. Bonacich (1973) argues that people whose legal rights are limited
are forced to become members of a middleman minority group. This group
of persons is characterised by such features as the application of distinctive
traditions, group solidarity, and use of their language.
2.3.5 Unemployment in the Classical Economic Theory
The classical theory, as analyzed by Pigou (1933) and Solow (1981), argues
that the labour market consists of demand and supply of labour. Demand for
labour is a derived demand, obtained from the declining portion of the
marginal product of labour. The demand curve is a negative function of real
wage in that if wages increase the quantity demand for labour will decline
and the opposite is correct. The supply of labour is derived from worker's
choice whether to spend part of time working or not working (leisure). Supply
of hours worked is a positive function of the real wage, because if the real
wage rises, workers supply more hours of work. In equilibrium, demand and
supply of labour are intersected at a clearing point that determines the
equilibrium real wage rate and full employment. Unemployment, Sweezy
(1940: 807) explaining Pigous Theory of Unemployment, apart from
frictional obstructionswould be nonexistent if it were not for the fact that
wage-earners habitually stipulate for a rate of wages higher than the
equilibrium level.
Full employment does not mean that there is no unemployment. Still
frictional unemployment does exist at the going real wage rate. For example,
54

if a worker thinks that the disutility of work is greater than the benefit of
work or the utility of the real wage, this worker will decide not to work. This
type

of

unemployment

is

called

voluntary

unemployment.

Frictional

unemployment arises because of the dynamic nature of the labour markets,


the availability of information, the search for better jobs, and random
fluctuations in demand for labour such as closing of a plant and of opening of
a new plant. Duration of frictional unemployment is determined by the
unemployment insurance benefits and the speed of the information.
In line with Hayek theory of unemployment, Trehan (2001) provides an
important explanation of the search theory of unemployment. Firms search
for the productive workers and workers search for high-paying jobs. So, both
agents continue searching until matches are reached. At that point a worker
will leave the unemployment pool. But if a worker realizes later on that her
productivity is worth higher wages and firms are paying high wages on the
average, then the workers reservation wage will increase. Consequently, the
unemployment rate will start rising gradually, indicating a mismatch has
occurred again.

2.3.6 Economic Survival Theory


This theory holds that entrepreneurship is more popular among people
affected by political instability or people victimized by discrimination or
55

oppressed by marginalization. Thus it is possible for people who have lost


their jobs to corporate downsizing to become entrepreneurs. They do this not
by choice but by sheer will to survive. Mbaegbu (2008) posited that having
lost their means of livelihood, these people now channel their creative
energies to entrepreneurship, usually after the initial period of inertia and
despondency; a phenomenon that described as the movement from poverty
to wealth.
2.3.7 Drukers Creative Imitation Theory
According to Druker (1985), entrepreneurs in Least Developed Countries are
not truly innovators in the traditional Schumpeterian sense. They rarely
produce brand new products rather they imitate the products and production
processes that have been invented mostly by the developed countries. To
Druker,

therefore,

entrepreneurship

in

Least

Developed

Countries

is

Creative Imitation. This takes place when the imitators better understand
how an innovation can be applied, used or sold in their particular market
niches, to wit, their own countries and neighbours. Mbaegbu (2008) opined
that in Nigeria this brand of entrepreneurship abound in the South East
among the Ibos as revealed by Nafziger (1967) and Harris (1967). These
brands of entrepreneurs imitate and adapt products of innovation. To Druker,
what underscores entrepreneurship is change The entrepreneur always
searches for change, responds to it and exploits it as an opportunity
(Druker, 1986).

56

2.4

Empirical Review

There is need to review some literatures and studies in order to account for
different perspective to this study or those that will validate the result of this
research work. According to a report conducted by Action Aid Nigeria (2013)
cited from Ayansina (2013) noted that the countrys commitment towards
agricultural financing was decreasing on yearly basis, it stated that within
five years 2007-2011 the Nigerian federal government has allocated and
average of seemingly 3.5 percent of national budget to agriculture exposing
even greater hunger across in the country. Action Aid Nigeria (2013) also
revealed that contrary to Nigeria, some African countries like Rwanda, Ghana
and Burundi ensure budgetary allocation of 9-10 percent, 10.2 percent and
10.9 percent respectively this aligned them as the few countries that
conformedto the 2003 Maputo declaration, cited from Ayansina (2013). This
is similar to a study of Ghanas agricultural sector; solution to youth
unemployment by Bress-Biney (2013) he observed that the most possible
solutions to youth unemployment in Ghana being hyped now a days is the
greater participation of the youth in agriculture also see Hall (2013). He
stated that agriculture is the bedrock of most developing countries in which
Ghana is one.
Bress-Biney (2013) concludes that the importance of agriculture to the
development of Ghana economy cannot be overemphasized and therefore
should be attractive and lucrative to employ the youth and serve as a
57

catalyst for the overall development of the country's economy. It is the major
sector that can rescue our country from its current economic devastation.
Government must therefore invest significantly in the rehabilitation of this
sector financially. He said major reasons why industries are failing to perform
and many collapsing has been that the country has not invested much time,
energy and other resources into agriculture. This is as result of little attention
is drawn to the important industrial crops like palm tree (oil), cotton, sugar
cane, tobacco, and kenaf (used in the production of fiber bags).
Hall (2013) also concluded that those youth within the school system must
be targeted and those outside the school system must be lured and
sensitized. World Bank (2008) states that as traditional job-for-life career
paths become scarce, youth entrepreneurship offers an additional way of
incorporating youth into nowadays changing labour markets and enhancing
their economic freedom. Self-employment provides income for some young
people around the world, self-reliance and a dynamic route for growth and
the development of human capital. In addition, agricultural practice
embraces self-reliance and self-development. Alawode (2013) in a report
analyzed in the Punch newspaper stated that although the Nigerian
government is not investing financially in agricultural development, some
factors like discovery of oil by other countries, increasing unemployment
rate, have necessitated and compelled its greater attention to the sector by
developing policies that encourage greater private sector investments in the
sector.
58

According to a study by Tasie (2013) to evaluate the effect of International


Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) credit supply on rural farmers in
Rivers state using a multi-stage sampling technique for a well administered
questionnaire to 90 farmers beneficiaries. His result shows that seven
independent variables were significant and there was a significant F-value.
The significant variables are farm size, off-farm income, total household
labour, educational level of farmer, gender, farm household size, and IFAD
credit. The study also shows that IFAD credit has positive effect on the wellbeing of rural farmers and has increase their farm output and income. As
regards unemployment, citing from Imeh (2012), Okafor (2011) observed
that unemployment is a global issue, but occurs often in developing
countries of the world, with associated social, economic, political, and
psychological consequences.
Oyebade (2003) added that colossal youth unemployment in any country
appears

to

be

far

more

complex

problems.

He

grouped

Nigerias

unemployment into two groups: the older unemployed who are jobless
through retrenchment, structural changes, dismissal or liquidation and the
younger unemployed, mostly without working experience.
Furthering on the discussion some scholars like Echebiri (2005) and Onah
(2001) described youth unemployment as the corporation of youth with
different background, willing and able to work, but cannot find any. This
means supply of labour exceeds the demand and it results into joblessness,
unemployment and underemployment. Due to the insufficient employment
59

opportunities in the formal sector, young people may oblige to engage in


menial work and other unconventional livelihood sources, thus leading to
underemployment cited from Imeh (2012). According to statistics from
National Bureau of Statistics, NBS (2009) the population of Nigerian youth is
about 80 million, which represents more than average of the total population
of the country accounted for 60% of the population. It shows that 64million
of the population are unemployed, while 1.6 million are under-employed. The
data on youth unemployment of 1990-2000 revealed that the group with
highest number of unemployed was the secondary school leavers. While
urban youth aged 20 - 24 pulled a total of 40% unemployment rate and
those aged 15-19 has 31% unemployment rate. Also, two-third of the urban
unemployed ranges from 15 24 years old. Moreover, the educated
unemployed are likely to be young males with few dependents. There are
relatively few secondary school leavers and the menial job expectations of
primary-school leavers. Okafor, (2011) opined, there is no consistent
movement of unemployment rates in Nigeria. An increase in one or two
years is sometimes preceded by a decline in the subsequent years
Accordingly Chinedum (2006) cited from Njoku and Ihugba (2011), he
observed that one of the fundamental steps taken by the Nigerian
government to reduce the problem of unemployment in Nigeria was the
establishment of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), which was
established in November 22, 1986 with the aim of quickly and effectively
tackling unemployment through designing and implementing innovative
60

programmes, that are focused towards the establishment of training


opportunities through the guidance and management support services to
graduate farmers and small scale entrepreneurs. The aim of NDE covered
across

programmes

like:

Agricultural

development

programme;

Youth

employment and vocational skills development programme; Special public


works; and Small scale industries and graduate employment programme, he
furthered stated that the purpose of the agricultural programmeis to
generate employment for graduates, non-graduates and secondary school
leavers in the Agricultural sector, reiterating on self employment in
agricultural production and marketing. However, factors such as insufficient
funding among others have impeded the effectiveness of the NDE
agricultural programmes (Chinedum 2006; reported by Njoku and Ihugba
2011).
Oyebade (2003) form a published report of Punch editorial of June 10, (2003)
referred to a report by the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP)
in 2001 stated that an average of about 120,000 graduates are groomed
from the universities and other tertiary institutions in the country each year.
Also another 500,000 secondary school leavers or college graduates are
released out each year, without the hope of getting employed. Although
NAPEP confessed the inaccurate number of the unemployed in the country,
the agency believes that 50% of the unemployed are youth (The Punch
Newspaper 2003).

61

Osim (2010) study explained the objective of the lofty plan and the
imperativeness of revamping the small and medium scale enterprises
subsector which is the most essential element in the growth strategy. A
survey of small and medium scale enterprises was done to appraise their
contributions toward macroeconomic objectives realization and their peculiar
problems

especially

those

anchored

on

government

policies

and

programmes. An overview of policies and incentives for promoting the subsector by government over the years was equally assessed, upon which
policy proposals for creating enabling environment for SMEs operations were
proffered

which

include

fiscal

incentives

and support,

infrastructural

development, strengthening of rural access to financial services, enactment


of enabling laws in line with modern realities.
Makinde (2013) carried out a study on how to curb Unemployment problem
in Nigeria through entrepreneurial development. The study was motivated by
the fact that unemployment problem like corrupt practices in Nigeria is a
hydra headed problem and thus require the collective effort of all. The study
made use of primary data sourced from 220 respondents in Kogi State
through administering of questionnaire. Their responses were tested using
appropriate statistical tools like the simple percentage and the Chi-square
research techniques; our study revealed that the unemployment problem in
Nigeria can be solved through entrepreneurial development and that
government effort in this regard is not sufficient given the magnitude of the
unemployed in Nigeria.
62

Adegbite, Ilori, Irefin, Abereijo and Aderemi carried out a study to evaluate
the impact of entrepreneurial characteristics on the performance of smallscale manufacturing industries in Nigeria. This was with a view to identifying
these entrepreneurial characteristics and the factors that influence their
translation to optimum business performance. Primary data, through
structured questionnaire, were collected from the samples of 100 firms
randomly selected from among the small-scale manufacturing industries
engaged in food and beverage; textile and wearing apparel; wood and wood
products; chemical and pharmaceuticals; and fabricated metal products.
Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of
Statistical Packages for Social Scientists (SPSS). Also, the correlation analysis
and regression analysis were carried out to examine the relationship
between contextual variables and business performance. The results showed
that human resource factors and the sales revenue were found to be
inadequate and severely inhibited the potential of the entrepreneurs for
performance and growth. However, length of years in business and working
experience were found to have positive contribution on their performance.
While majority (7) of the 10 Personal Entrepreneurial Characteristics (PEC) of
the respondents made negative contribution on the sales revenue, only
demand for efficiency and product quality, information seeking; and
systematic planning and monitoring had positive impact.
Mohammed and Obeleagu-Nzelibe (2012) carried out a study to critically
examine the skills required by entrepreneurs for the enhancement of the
63

performance of SMEs, find solutions to the problems facing the SMEs in


Nigeria and identify the option strategies needed by new ventures as
demonstration alternatives. The study focuses on the issues of resource
acquisition strategies and challenges militating against prosperity and
profitability of SMEs in Nigeria. The study used simple t-test and survey
methodology through questionnaire (administered) as an instrument of
primary data collection from a stratified random sample of 250 owners and
employees of SMEs in major industrial cities in Nigeria. Major findings include
entrepreneurial

skills,

proper

record

keeping,

access

to

financing,

concessional taxation, longer period of operation and consistent policies


were found to be significant factors required for business success and
profitability in Nigeria.
Ogundele, Akingbade and Akinlabi (2012) carried out a study to investigate
the intensity of entrepreneurship training and education as strategic tools for
poverty alleviation in Nigeria. Using a stratified random sampling technique,
250

entrepreneurs

and

apprenticeships

from

five

recognized

local

government areas in Lagos state, South Western Nigeria were selected as


our respondents. Data were gathered through a self-monitored questionnaire
survey. Simple regression analysis was used to test the relationship between
the entrepreneurship training and education and poverty alleviation. Two
hypotheses were postulated to determine the relationship between technical
skill and youth empowerment and between personal entrepreneurial skill and
social welfare services. This study confirmed that entrepreneurship training
64

and education are significantly related to the youth empowerment and social
welfare services. Findings revealed that youth empowerment are influenced
by their acquired technical skill. The study recommends effective technical
education, youth empowerment, and social welfare service as a catalyst for
poverty alleviation.
2.5

Conclusion and Gap in Literature

Several

researchers

have

attempted

to

study

the

problem

of

entrepreneurship innovation and agricultural development leaving behind


gaps that need to be filled. Definitions of entrepreneurship innovation are
often a site of confusion and controversy, marked by tensions between
vernacular, regulatory and contractual meanings. None of those studies
attempted to relate entrepreneurship innovation to agricultural development
which gaps the study has helped to fill. The mentioned studies had different
independent variables and were conducted out in different a context which
justifies the need for the proposed study.

65

CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1

Introduction

The chapter described the proposed research method that was to be used.
This includes the research design, population of the study, sample and
sampling techniques, data collection instrument, administration of data
collection instrument, validity and reliability of the research instrument,
procedure of data analysis and limitations of the study.
3.2

Research Design

66

The survey research design will be used in carrying out this research. It
involves a plan that guided the researcher in data collection phase of the
research work. The design of this work followed a quantitative approach.
Quantitative research is a formal, objective, systematic process to describe
and test relationships and examine cause and effect interactions among
variables. A descriptive survey will be selected because it provides an
accurate portrayal or account of the characteristics, for example, behavior,
opinions, abilities, beliefs and knowledge of a particular individual situation
or group. This design was chosen to meet the objectives of the study.
3.3

Population of the Study

Population can be described as a complete set of items, total number of


people which are of interest in a particular situation. Population is the entire
distribution of a particular items or persons in an environment. The study
populations are one hundred and twenty-seven (127) small scale farmers
within Abeokuta, Ogun State.

3.4

Sample Size Determination

Sampling is usually done when the study population is too large for the
researcher to come in contact with each and every element in the
population. Mark Slovin, which is concerned with the application of normal
approximation with 95% confidence level and 5% error tolerance, was used
to determine the sample size in the organization.
67

Mark Slovin Size Determination Formula;


n=

N
1+ N (e) 2
Where:
n = Sample size
N = Total population
e = Error Margin
n = 127
1 + 127(0.05)2
n = 127
1 + 127 x (0.05)2
n = 127
1 + (127 x 0.0025)
n = 127
1 + 0.32
n = 127
1.32
n = 96 Staff

A sample size of ninety-six (96) farmers out of the one hundred and twentyseven (127) farmers is chosen. All members of the population will have equal
chances to be chosen as part of the sample because the questionnaires will
be administered randomly to the entire farmers.

3.5

Sources of Data Collection

The study used primary and secondary data. Primary was collected through
questionnaires that were to be distributed by the researcher. The questions
were structured and the respondents fully informed about the purpose of
data collection. The questionnaires consisted of both open ended and closed
68

ended questions. The open ended questions were meant to avoid limiting the
respondents in answering the questions. A Likert scale was also used for
close-ended questions. The questionnaire was made up of two sections.
Section (A) solicited for information on respondents bio-data, while section
(B) focused on information relating to entrepreneurship innovation and
agricultural development in a Likert scale format.
3.6

Sampling Technique

Due to the large size of the population of this study, the researcher decided
to use random sampling procedure to select a sample size that adequately
represents the population.
3.7

Sample Frame

This is the list of sampling entities and properties used as basis to determine
the factors to include in sampling frame, such as organizations, institutions,
people, men, women, departments and others in a study. In this study, the
sampling frame is made up of the one hundred and twenty-seven (127) small
scale farmers within Abeokuta, Ogun State.
3.8

Research Instruments

Two types of research instruments will be used in this study. They are
questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaires will be pre-tested to allow
the researcher determine if the respondent would have any difficulty in
understanding them, or if there are ambiguous or biased questions. The
design of the questionnaire will be simple and respondent-friendly. The
questions will be formulated in order to elicit information on efficacy of
69

distribution activities on sales performance. The information sought included


age,

sex,

marital

status,

and

position

in

organization,

educational

background, etc.
3.9

Validity of Research Instrument

Validity test will be carried out in order to ensure that the research
instrument measured what it was meant to measure. The methods of
measuring validity will be face; content; criterion and construct validity. Face
and content validity will be deployed for this study through the judgment of
the supervisors and experts both in academic institutions and organizations.
Content Validity will be used to determine the appropriateness of the wording
of the instrument and the objectives of the study while face Validity will be
ensured to enable the researcher to assert if she had measured what he set
out to measure.
3.10 Reliability of Research Instrument
Reliability test ensures that the instrument measures consistently as
required. It also shows the extent to which the researcher can confidently
rely on the information obtained through the use of the instrument adopted
to gather data for the research work. Consequently, data collected will be
subjected to reliability analysis to establish the reliability of the measures
and ensure consistent measurement among the various measurements in
the instrument. Analysis to the reliability of coefficient will be used. To ensure
the reliability of the study instrument, a pilot study will be conducted by the

70

researcher to test the outcome, using the test-and-retest method to arrive at


the reliability of the instrument.

3.11 Method of Data Analysis


The data will be analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics to summarize
and relate variables which were be attained from the administered
questionnaires. The data will be classified, tabulated and summarized using
descriptive measures, percentages and frequency distribution tables while
tables will be used for presentation of findings. However, before final analysis
will be performed, data will be cleaned to eliminate discrepancies and
thereafter, classified on the basis of similarity and then tabulated. In
accomplishing all analysis details with efficiency and effectiveness, the
researcher will utilize the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)
software. The study will make use of Pearson Coefficient Correlation analysis
test for hypotheses 1 to 3 since they are measuring relationship between
variables.

71

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Baumol, J. (1993). Poverty to Sustainable Development: A Community-based


Approach. University of Calabar Printing Press, Calabar, Nigeria.
Aiyedun, E. A. (2004). Creating Enabling Environment for Micro and Small
Scale

Enterprise in Nigeria. African Centre for Contemporary Studies

Arinaitwe, J. K. (2006). Factors constraining the growth and survival of small


scale business: A developing countries analysis. Journal of American
Academy of

Business, Cambridge, 8(2), 167- 178

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79

QUESTIONNAIRE
College of Management Sciences,
Department of Entrepreneurship
Studies,
Federal University of Agriculture,
Abeokuta,
Ogun State.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a final year student of the above named institution and
department; I am conducting a research of the topic Entrepreneurship
Innovation and Agricultural Development.
The study is in partial fulfillment of the award of Bachelor of Science
(B.Sc.) degree in Business Administration. The findings will definitely
be of immense help to the entrepreneurs, please kindly provide the
appropriate response by ticking the right box to the best of your
knowledge of those questions, I plead for your co-operation and be rest
assured that the information obtained from this exercise is purely for
academic purpose and will be hold strict confidence.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
..
Researcher
SECTION A: RESPONDENTS BIO-DATA
INSTRUCTION: Please indicate appropriate information.
1.
Sex: Male ( ) Female ( )
2.

Marital Status: Married (

3.

Age Group: 20 29 (

4.

Educational Qualification: Formal Education (

education (
5.

Single (

) 30 39 (

Divorce (

) 40 and above (

)
) No Formal

Business Experience: 1-5 Years ( )

Years (

16 Years and Above (

)
80

6-10 Years (

) 11-15

SECTION B
SA
= Strongly Agree
U
= Undecided
SD
= Strongly Disagreed
S/N

A
D

= Agree
= Disagreed

ITEMS

SA

SA

Youth empowerment contributes to the to being selfemployed


Youth empowerment serves as a catalyst for poverty
reduction
Youth empowerment remain a veritable vehicle for the
transformation of Nigerian economy
Youth empowerment contributes to major source of
income to business owners in Nigeria
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION
Entrepreneurship education can help promote
entrepreneurial development
Entrepreneurship education can promote massive
employment generation
Entrepreneurship education could change mindsets
and provide the necessary business skills
The current educational system in Nigerian prepares
young people for a future that no longer exist in
Nigeria
ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT
SA

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Entrepreneurial development is prevalent in Abeokuta


Entrepreneurial development helps in the creation of
employment opportunities
Entrepreneurial development are veritable engines for
the development of entrepreneurial capabilities
Desired employment generation in Nigeria can be
achieved through entrepreneurial development
BUSINESS VENTURING
Personality trait enhances the chances of business
venturing
Personality trait help business in building self-reliant
skills
Personality trait helps in the creation of employment
through business venturing
Personality trait serves as a catalyst in business
venturing for poverty reduction
81

S
D
S
D

S
D

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
26
27
28
29

30
31
32
33

34
35
36
37

SA

S
D

Economic development can foster employment


generation
Economic
development
could
ensure
youth
empowerment
Economic development could help in the greater
utilization of local raw materials
Desired Youth empowerment
in Nigeria can be
achieved through economic development could
EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
SA

S
D

Employment generation is paramount to growth of


Nigeria economy
Massive employment generation is necessary to attain
vision 20/20 in Nigeria
Employment generation is a veritable vehicle for the
transformation of Nigerian economy
Employment generation can serve as a major source
of income to business owners in Nigeria
POVERTY ALLEVIATION
SA

S
D

Apprenticeship system has programmes to help


alleviate poverty
Apprenticeship system helps reduces poverty
Apprenticeship
system
has
adopted
poverty
alleviation programme to improve the standard of
living of an average rural dwellers
Apprenticeship system has reduced job seekers
thereby poverty level has been minimal

82

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