A gap analysis of farm tourism microentrepreneurial mentoring needs in North Carolina, USA

Abstract

Tourism is frequently proposed as a strategy to revitalize rural economies. The current mushroom¬ing of web platforms for the tourism sharing eco¬nomy affords rural microentrepreneurs opportu¬nities to capitalize on the growing demand for authentic experiences. However, these platforms may actually be widening the socio-economic gap between individuals across the digital and urban/ rural divides. In addition, the well-established urban culture of entrepreneurial mentorship is not taking hold in the rural areas, which direly need to attract and support nascent entrepreneurs. Farms are increasingly adopting tourism to diversify their business models, and Extension agents are trusted mentors par excellence of agribusiness entrepreneurs; therefore, this study explores the extent to which Extension agents feel able to address the mentoring needs of farm tourism microentrepre-neurs. We measured both tourism e-microentrepre¬neurial self-efficacy (TeMSE) among farmers and tourism e-microentrepreneurial mentoring self-efficacy (TeMMSE) of Extension agents. Results show that farmers have relatively low self-efficacy in the dimensions of e-marketing and marshalling resources, and that agents may be efficacious men¬tors in these dimensions. Farmers also show low self-efficacy in adapting to externalities; however, agents do not perceive themselves as efficacious mentors in this dimension. We conclude with a discussion of practical implications for train-the-trainer strategies to enable farm tourism micro¬entrepreneurship success.

Self-Efficacy Mechanism in Farm Tourism Microentrepreneurship

“…There is a growing call for empirically based and theoretically driven solutions to support tourism microentrepreneurship initiatives, which stand to enhance the authenticity, uniqueness, and competitiveness of the destination ( Hallak et al, 2012 ; Morais et al, 2017a ; Çakmak et al, 2019 ; Destinations International, 2019 ; KC et al, 2021 ). At the same time, signature farm tourism is emerging as one of the most promising niches for tourism microentrepreneurism ( Ferreira et al, 2020 ) by capitalizing on the popularity of the foodie scene among the populace ( Weiss, 2012 ; Morais et al, 2017b ). Agritourism prominently contributes to the diversification of farm income ( Barbieri, 2017 ), to the preservation of productive agricultural lands ( Vafadari, 2013 ), and the empowerment of rural women ( Garcia-Ramon et al, 1995 ; Halim et al, 2020 ; Savage et al, 2020 ).…”

“…For example, tourism is still uncharted territory for many farmers whose expertise lies predominantly in agricultural production ( Mikko Vesala et al, 2007 ; Haugen and Vik, 2008 ; Joyner et al, 2018 ). Also, destination management organizations (DMO) have not consistently integrated farm experiences into the mainstream tourism product ( McGehee, 2007 ; Ferreira et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Similarly, in Finland, farmers with a diversified portfolio of income-generating farm-related businesses (i.e., portfolio farmers) had higher perceived entrepreneurial identities than traditional farmers but lower entrepreneurial identities than other non-farm entrepreneurs ( Mikko Vesala et al, 2007 ). Additionally, many farmers are reluctant to open up their farms to visitors because they are concerned with liability ( Centner, 2010 ; Pegas et al, 2013 ; Ferreira et al, 2020 ). This has prompted rural development agencies such as Cooperative Extension to train farmers on improving their operations and adopting best practices in farm safety and liability management ( Infante-Casella et al, 2018 ).…”

Visitors and values: A qualitative analysis of agritourism operator motivations across the U.S.

“…Accurately identifying farmer motivations and goals can help provide better programming and support for producers at the outreach level and more accurately steer the focus of future academic research. Although a recent study suggests that there are areas in which agricultural extension agents are failing to fully meet farmer needs (Ferreira et al, 2020), research shows that when agricultural educators have a greater understanding of the diversity of farmers' perceptions, beliefs, and actions, they are "more likely to succeed in supporting farmers' application of knowledge and skills, resulting in improvements to farming practices and production" (Eckert & Bell, 2005, p. 8). This study sought to better capture the depth and breadth of these farmer motivations, and critically highlights the role of community engagement and leadership of agritourism operators alongside financial viability goals.…”

Role of Education and Mentorship in Entrepreneurial Behavior: Mediating Role of Self-Efficacy

“…Mentorship can help farmers develop entrepreneurial skills. However, the effects of mentoring on entrepreneurial learning have only been studied to a limited extent ( Ferreira et al, 2020 ). As a result, farmer-mentoring programs targeted at helping farmers’ development and learning have been examined to see how the mentoring idea is included, what types of learning are encouraged, and what impacts on entrepreneurship training are discovered ( Permadi et al, 2020 ).…”