Agripreneurship Practices and Agricultural Sustainability Among Smallholder Maize Farmers in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

Agripreneurship has gained traction as a development paradigm to unlock the potential of smallholder farmers, who constitute the backbone of the agricultural sector. Agripreneurship practices influence agricultural transformation, specifically sustainability, productivity, profitability, and food security. Agricultural sustainability among smallholder farmers in Nigeria is a multidimensional discourse; it embraces the adoption of farming practices that are sustainable. This study, therefore, seeks to examine the influence of selected agripreneurship practices on agricultural sustainability among smallholder farmers in Niger State, Nigeria. Specifically, it focuses on five dimensions that capture the essence of agripreneurial behavior within the agricultural value chain.

The study employed a quantitative research design, and a structured questionnaire was administered to 500 smallholder maize farmers selected through multistage random sampling from a population of 5,000 registered members of the Maize Growers, Processors, and Marketers Association of Nigeria (MAGPAMAN) in Niger State. The Yamane (1967) formula guided sample determination, and data were analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in Stata 15.1. Results revealed that all five agripreneurship practices have significant positive effects on agricultural sustainability, with Agricultural Training and Extension Services (ATES) (β = 0.81) and Improved Seed Varieties (ISV) (β = 0.78) showing the strongest standardized loadings. The study concludes that agripreneurship practices enhance resource efficiency, environmental conservation, and livelihood resilience among smallholder farmers.