The role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities

Purpose Entrepreneurship has increasingly become a subject of interest for scholars and policymakers in an attempt to reduce poverty in agricultural communities across the world, especially in Africa. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role of entrepreneurship in reducing pove...

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Main Author: Dzingirai, Mufaro
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Emerald 2022
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-01-2021-0016
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4672
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author Dzingirai, Mufaro
author_facet Dzingirai, Mufaro
author_sort Dzingirai, Mufaro
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description Purpose Entrepreneurship has increasingly become a subject of interest for scholars and policymakers in an attempt to reduce poverty in agricultural communities across the world, especially in Africa. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities of Lower Gweru, Zimbabwe. Design/methodology/approach Exploratory research design informed the data collection and analysis in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 owners of agribusinesses from various socio-economic backgrounds. The collected data from the field were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings The results revealed that entrepreneurship plays a catalytic role in poverty reduction in agricultural communities through food security, skill transfer, employment creation, income generation and a decrease in food costs. Research limitations/implications This study focused on four agricultural communities in Lower Gweru which can limit the generalizability of the results to other contexts. Furthermore, this inquiry is a cross-sectional study that did not capture the longitudinal factors that can affect entrepreneurship and poverty reduction in agricultural communities. Practical implications The research outcomes have some practical implications for the Zimbabwean government and microfinance institutions in designing policies and programs to reduce poverty in marginalized agricultural communities. The findings are also useful for non-governmental organizations in designing, monitoring and evaluating poverty reduction programs in agricultural communities. Originality/value This study advances, contextualizes and enriches the body of knowledge concerning agricultural entrepreneurship and poverty reduction in the under-researched setting of agricultural communities. Notably, this study captures the African flavor in the agricultural entrepreneurship and poverty reduction discourse by focusing on the unique Zimbabwean context.
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spelling ir-11408-46722022-06-27T13:49:06Z The role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities Dzingirai, Mufaro Poverty reduction Agricultural entreprenuership Smallholder farmers Africa Zimbabwe Purpose Entrepreneurship has increasingly become a subject of interest for scholars and policymakers in an attempt to reduce poverty in agricultural communities across the world, especially in Africa. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to examine the role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities of Lower Gweru, Zimbabwe. Design/methodology/approach Exploratory research design informed the data collection and analysis in this study. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 owners of agribusinesses from various socio-economic backgrounds. The collected data from the field were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings The results revealed that entrepreneurship plays a catalytic role in poverty reduction in agricultural communities through food security, skill transfer, employment creation, income generation and a decrease in food costs. Research limitations/implications This study focused on four agricultural communities in Lower Gweru which can limit the generalizability of the results to other contexts. Furthermore, this inquiry is a cross-sectional study that did not capture the longitudinal factors that can affect entrepreneurship and poverty reduction in agricultural communities. Practical implications The research outcomes have some practical implications for the Zimbabwean government and microfinance institutions in designing policies and programs to reduce poverty in marginalized agricultural communities. The findings are also useful for non-governmental organizations in designing, monitoring and evaluating poverty reduction programs in agricultural communities. Originality/value This study advances, contextualizes and enriches the body of knowledge concerning agricultural entrepreneurship and poverty reduction in the under-researched setting of agricultural communities. Notably, this study captures the African flavor in the agricultural entrepreneurship and poverty reduction discourse by focusing on the unique Zimbabwean context. 2022-03-08T13:25:21Z 2022-03-08T13:25:21Z 2021 Article 1750-6204 https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-01-2021-0016 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4672 en Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy;Vol. 15; No. 5: p. 665-683 open Emerald
spellingShingle Poverty reduction
Agricultural entreprenuership
Smallholder farmers
Africa
Zimbabwe
Dzingirai, Mufaro
The role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities
title The role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities
title_full The role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities
title_fullStr The role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities
title_full_unstemmed The role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities
title_short The role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities
title_sort role of entrepreneurship in reducing poverty in agricultural communities
topic Poverty reduction
Agricultural entreprenuership
Smallholder farmers
Africa
Zimbabwe
url https://doi.org/10.1108/JEC-01-2021-0016
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/4672
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