6784 Journal of Extension Education Vol. 34 No.1, 2022.1.34 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26725/JEE.2022.1.31.6784-6787 Motivational Factors for Entering into Agri-preneurship : A Study among Successful Agri-preneurs of Kerala Saran Murali and K.V. Thomas ABSTRACT Agri-preneurship is a solution to many economic problems faced by India in general and agriculturists in particular. It can significantly contribute to rural development. This study seeks to understand the factors which motivate people to start and lead to the success of agripreneurship. Primary data were collected from 60 respondents using a structured interview schedule. It was found that the highest motivational factor for entering into the agripreneurship field was ‘Knowledge about the business’ followed by ‘self-satisfaction’. There was no significant difference among motivational factors with regard to age group. Keywords: Agri-preneurship; Motivational Factors; Entrepreneurship; Value added agriculture; Kerala Entrepreneurship plays an important role in the economic development of our country, and it is one of the major sources of income generation. Still the majority of the people are depending agriculture are their livelihood, it is necessary to set an entrepreneurial culture in agriculture and the farmers need to be motivated to shift from subsistence cultivation to commercial cultivation. Various agri-preneurs in the country have proved that agriculture can be economically viable if various agricultural enterprises are followed up with post-harvest processing, value addition and marketing (Hajong & Padaria, 2016). Agripreneurship is the profitable combination of agriculture and entrepreneurship as it turns the agriculture into an agribusiness. Agripreneurship is a concept specific to agriculture and drawn from wider entrepreneurship(Nwibo, Mbam, and Biam, 2016). Agripreneurship is necessary for the socio-economic upliftment of the greater population through the creation of new agribusinesses, agricultural commodities value chains and overall economic growth (Uneze, 2013). Behind the transformation from agriculturists to agripreneurs, there are certain motivators. Motivational factors are the needs, wants desires or aspirations that forces a person to do something. Education and training positively influence entrepreneurial behavior in the agricultural sector, although training requirements differ across different agricultural subsectors like age and gender (Dias, Rodrigues, and Ferreira, 2019). Therefore, this study was taken up in Kerala : a) To identify the prominent agripreneurial motivational factors. b) To analyse whether motivational factors make any difference with regard to age. RESEARCH NOTE Department of Commerce, Marian College (Autonomous), Kuttikkanam, Kerala 685531 Received : 15.09.21 ; Accepted : 31.08.22 Motivational Factors for Entering into Agri-preneurship : A Study among Successful Agri-preneurs of Kerala 6785 METHODOLOGY The study is based on both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected from sample respondents using a structured interview schedule. Secondary data were collected from various sources like magazines, journals, Government reports, periodicals and the internet, etc. Respondents were selected among successful agripreneurs in Central Kerala in three districts viz., Kottayam, Eranakulam, and Thrissur of Kerala. Success of agripreneurs and agripreneurship is based on the experience and return from the venture. For this study success is defined as generation of continuous profit by an agripreneur from the venture for the past three years from the venture. The initial set of respondents were identified from Agricultural magazines such as Karshakasree, Kerala Karshakan, Krishi Jagran etc. and rest of them were identified through Snowball sampling. The sample size was 60. The collected data were analyzed using mean and One-way ANOVA using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Agripreneurial Motivation Technically the term ‘motivation’ is derived from the Latin word ‘movere’ which means ‘move’. It means that motivation is something that urges a person to move or behave. Thus, motivation is the inner state of mind that causes an individual to behave in such a way that can ensure the achievement of some goals. Motivation can be defined as the process that motivates a person into action and indicates him to continue the courses of action until the achievement of goals. Literature review and discussion with a few users helped the researcher to isolate 7 possible motivations that motivate the agripreneurs to enter into this business. Table1 shows the most important motivation of the respondents. Table 1. Motivation for entering into the Business Sl. No. Particulars Frequency 1 Profit making 4.49 2 Self- satisfaction 4.62 3 Do not want to work for others 3.92 4 Traditional business of the family 3.75 5 Job security 3.85 6 Means of survival 4.60 7 Knowledge about the business 4.73 Table 1 shows that the highest motivational factor for entering into this field is Knowledge about the business followed by self-satisfaction and means of survival followed profit making. The medium factors are job security, do not want to work for others. The least motivational factor is traditional business of the family. Motivational Factors and Age group The motivational factors may differ according to the Age group. Here is an attempt to see whether motivational factors make any difference with regard to age group. In order to test this, the following hypothesis was formulated and tested using one-way ANOVA. The results are furnished in Table 2. H0: There is no significant difference among motivational factors with regard to Age group. H1: There is a significant difference among motivational factors with regard to Age group. Journal of Extension Education 6786 Table 2. Motivational Factors and Age Group Descriptives ANOVA Mean S.D. d/f f p Profit making Up to 30 years 4.50 .577 Between Groups Within Groups 8 52 0.425 0.759 30 to 40 4.00 0.000 40 to 50 4.50 .756 50 to 60 4.13 1.088 Total 4.27 .907 Total 60 Self- satisfaction Up to 30 years 4.50 .577 Between Groups Within Groups 8 52 0.368 0.797 30 to 40 4.00 0.000 40 to 50 4.25 1.035 50 to 60 4.50 .730 Total 4.40 .770 Total 60 Do not want to work for others Up to 30 years 5.00 0.000 Between Groups Within Groups 8 52 4.677 0.051 30 to 40 5.00 0.000 40 to 50 3.63 1.188 50 to 60 3.25 1.000 Total 3.70 1.149 Total 60 Traditional business of the family Up to 30 years 3.00 1.155 Between Groups Within Groups 8 52 2.853 0.057 30 to 40 4.00 0.000 40 to 50 2.50 .926 50 to 60 4.13 1.586 Total 3.53 1.479 Total 60 Job security Up to 30 years 4.50 .577 Between Groups Within Groups 8 52 1.319 0.298 30 to 40 4.00 0.000 40 to 50 3.38 .916 50 to 60 3.50 1.155 Total 3.63 1.033 Total 60 Motivational Factors for Entering into Agri-preneurship : A Study among Successful Agri-preneurs of Kerala 6787 Descriptives ANOVA Means of survival Up to 30 years 5.00 0.000 Between Groups Within Groups 8 52 1.523 0.223 30 to 40 5.00 0.000 40 to 50 4.63 .744 50 to 60 4.06 1.181 Total 4.40 1.003 Total 60 Knowledge about the business Up to 30 years 5.00 Between Groups Within Groups 8 52 1.266 0.327 30 to 40 5.00 40 to 50 4.50 .756 50 to 60 4.38 .719 Total 4.53 .681 Total 60 Since the p > 0.05 the null hypothesis was retained. Therefore, there is no significant difference among motivational factors with regard to age group. Hence the motivational factors are independent of age. This study will be a motivation to agripreneurship aspirants to understand reasons behind others' involvement in agripreneurship. It will help the government to understand different motivational factors influencing the agripreneurs to engage in agripreneurship. REFERENCES Dias, C. S. L., Rodrigues, R. G., & Ferreira, J. J. (2019). What’s new in the research on agricultural entrepreneurship? Journal of Rural Studies, 65(2019), 99–115. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2018.11.003 Hajong, D., & Padaria, R. N. (2016). Agripreneurial Attitude among the Farmers of National Capital Region of Delhi. Economic Affairs, 61(4), 683–689. https://doi. org/10.5958/0976-4666.2016.00085.1 Nwibo, S. U., Mbam, B. N., & Biam, C. K. (2016). Determinants of Agripreneurship among the Rural Households of Ishielu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. 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