Family Background as Correlate of University Students’ Agripreneurship Intentions in Niger Delta

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of family background on university students' agripreneurship intentions in Niger Delta, Nigeria. The correlational survey research design was used to collect data from a sample of 377, selected using multi-staged stratified random sampling procedure. The sample size was selected from a population of 18,474 undergraduate students studying Agriculture courses in federal and state universities in Niger-Delta. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The questionnaire was face validated by 5 experts. Split-half reliability method was used, and a Spearman-Brown coefficient of 0.883 was obtained, demonstrating the reliability of the instrument. The data collected from respondents were analyzed using pie-charts, Mean ( x ), Standard Deviation, and correlation (γ). The findings revealed that a very weak positive relationship existed between parents' occupation, educational background, income and students' agripreneurship intentions, and a very weak negative relationship existed between family size and students' agripreneurship intentions. Based on these findings, it was concluded that family background has very little influence on students' agripreneurship intentions. Recommendations included that: parents should be sensitized on the entrepreneurial opportunities embedded in the Agricultural sector in light of the increasing rate of unemployment of graduates from various disciplines.