Title: EVALUATION OF THE ATTITUDE OF AGRICULTURE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS TOWARD SELF-EMPLOYMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN DELTA STATE

Authors:
Okpako, Nyerhovwo & C. N. Ikeoji (Professor)

Abstract: Abstract The study investigated the attitude of agriculture undergraduate students in tertiary institutions toward selfemployment and entrepreneurship in Delta State. Three research questions guided it. Also, two research hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 alpha level with 242 degrees of freedom. A descriptive survey research design was adopted. The study population consists of 921 agriculture undergraduate students from the four State Universities in Delta State. Purposive and Disproportionate Stratified random sampling techniques were used to select a sample size of 257 respondents. Data were collected through the use of a self-developed structured questionnaire of 33 items. Mean, Standard deviation, and t-tests were used to analyze the data. The findings show that agriculture undergraduate students have positive attitudes toward self-employment/entrepreneurship in agriculture; the respondents also identified twelve lucrative agriculture entrepreneurship opportunities in Delta State, and their major impediments to successful self-employment in agriculture upon graduation which include, lack of practical knowledge, and fear of failure/initiative, lack of confidence to secure funds/resources, etc. The findings of the null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance with 242 degrees of freedom, indicated that there is no significant difference in the mean responses of male and female agriculture undergraduate students regarding their attitude toward self-employment/entrepreneurship in agriculture and entrepreneurship opportunities in Delta State. The study therefore, recommended that state government should provide tertiary institutions with adequate infrastructure, and modern agricultural and entrepreneurial equipment/facilities, build entrepreneurship centers, and employ quality personnel to aid the transmission of entrepreneurial skills to students and foster a supportive environment. Keywords: Attitude, Agriculture, Students, Tertiary Institution, Self-employment, Entrepreneurship

Publication Date: 2024-07-03