Narrative Insights Reveal the Motivations of Young Agricultural Entrepreneurs in Laos

Abstract

The participation of youth in agricultural entrepreneurship (agripreneurship) is beneficial for the sustainable development of agrarian societies that are transitioning towards the commercialization of agriculture. Accordingly, we investigated the phenomena that motivate practicing young, small- and medium-scale agripreneurs to pursue their careers, using the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) as a case study. To achieve this, we applied narrative inquiry techniques to the accounts of 74 young Laotian agripreneurs regarding their entry into agripreneurship. This enabled us to identify and describe common and influential paradigms that were subsequently interpreted from the perspective of entrepreneurship and behavioral studies of career decision making to explain the influence of motivations on the young agripreneurs. Our study has shown that despite the characteristics that set agripreneurship in Laos apart from entrepreneurship in general, commonly identified typologies of entrepreneurial motivation, particularly income, extrinsic benefits and emotional paradigms also motivate Lao youth to become agripreneurs. The application of narrative inquiry has revealed the emphasis some practicing agripreneurs in Laos place on the attainability of their career, which resulted in its practice by both opportunity-driven and necessity-driven entrepreneurs, with implications for the sustainable development of other countries in transition to commercial agriculture.

Motivators and impediments to mushroom commercialisation in Ghana: Implication for policymakers, development partners and extension agents

“…As a result, the study's findings confirm that social awareness is critical to improving the commercialization of smallholder farming in general, and oyster mushroom production in particular. The findings of the study also agree with those of [ 53 ], who identified income benefit as the most important motivator for young agricultural entrepreneurs. Farmers frequently view income as a means of achieving personal independence, financially supporting children/and or parents, financing schooling, acquiring study materials and/or machinery (e.g., vehicles) for themselves or others, extending their existing resources and time in activities to escape poverty, and/or developing their agricultural livelihoods through labour reduction and efficiency improvements [ 53 ].…”

“…The findings of the study also agree with those of [ 53 ], who identified income benefit as the most important motivator for young agricultural entrepreneurs. Farmers frequently view income as a means of achieving personal independence, financially supporting children/and or parents, financing schooling, acquiring study materials and/or machinery (e.g., vehicles) for themselves or others, extending their existing resources and time in activities to escape poverty, and/or developing their agricultural livelihoods through labour reduction and efficiency improvements [ 53 ]. Thus, mushroom farmers commercialize oyster mushrooms because they believe it is highly profitable and provide a steady source of income.…”

“…It is essential to distinguish between goals, which are short-term tangible objectives and means to an end, and motivations, which are ends in and of themselves [ 61 ]. Agricultural commercialization is substantially influenced by goals and motivations [ 28 , 33 , 53 ]. However, goals, such as making money, are usually only tools for achieving higher-order aspirations such as securing a family lifestyle [ 62 ].…”

“…Youth with income and extrinsic motivations such as self-employment were reported to lean more toward agricultural commercialization than those with emotional and societal-communal motivations. Similarly, the vegetable farmers who perceived higher environmental and financial risks were found to be less commercial [ 28 , 33 , 53 ].…”

“…Additionally, the literature on agricultural commercialization has paid less attention to psychosocial factors such as motivation and perception of impediments that influence agricultural commercialization decision-making behaviour in general and oyster mushroom commercialization in particular. Only a few studies have highlighted the significance of agricultural commercialization's motivational aspects recently [ 28 , 33 , 52 , 53 ]. These studies focused primarily on identifying the motivations that led to the commercialization of wild plants, and influenced youth and vegetable farmers' commercialization, but failed to investigate the motivations and perceived barriers to the commercialization of cultivated oyster mushrooms.…”