Agro-Entrepreneurship Development Strategies and Employment Generation in South-South Nigeria: Evidence from a Mixed-Method Survey

Abstract

This study examined how agro-entrepreneurship development strategies influence employment generation in the agricultural sector of South-South Nigeria. The paper responds to a persistent development challenge: its capacity to generate sustainable employment is constrained by limited finance, uneven skills development, weak technology adoption, poor market linkages and inconsistent policy support. This paper guided by the Agricultural Innovation System perspective and Human Capital Theory. This paper adopted a mixed-method explanatory survey design. Data were collected from 542 farmers, agripreneurs, cooperative members, agro-processors, agribusiness service operators and extension-related stakeholders across Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers states. Structured questionnaire data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and ordinary least squares multiple regression, while key informant interviews were analysed thematically. Results showed that all five agro-entrepreneurship strategies significantly predicted employment generation. Capacity building was the strongest predictor (β = 0.297, p < 0.001), followed by access to finance (β = 0.211, p < 0.001), technology adoption (β = 0.184, p = 0.001), market access (β = 0.155, p = 0.002) and policy support (β = 0.132, p = 0.004). Qualitative findings confirmed that collateral barriers, delayed credit, insufficient extension services, technology costs, infrastructure gaps and weak policy coordination reduce the employment potential of agro-enterprises. The study concludes that employment generation in South-South agriculture requires an integrated strategy linking affordable finance, practical training, accessible technologies, market infrastructure and accountable institutions.