Institutional Support and Agripreneurship Intention among Agricultural Education Students in Colleges of Education in North East Nigeria

Institutional support is a critical factor associated with shaping students' entrepreneurial intentions, particularly in conflict-affected regions. This study examined the relationship between institutional support and specifically supportive norms for innovation and innovative culture on agripreneurship intention among agricultural education students in colleges of education in North-East Nigeria. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted with 380 NCE III agricultural education students drawn from nine colleges using stratified and simple random sampling. A 30-item questionnaire comprising 10 items for supportive norms, 10 items for innovative culture, and 10 items for agripreneurship intention was developed, validated by three experts, and pilot-tested, yielding Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.905 for supportive norms and 0.913 for innovative culture. Data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, independent-samples t-tests, and simple linear regression. Results showed that supportive norms (M = 3.94) and innovative culture (M = 3.87) had a strong influence on agripreneurship intention. Regression analysis revealed that supportive norms (R² = 0.262, β = 0.512, p < .001) and innovative culture (R² = 0.227, β = 0.476, p < .001) significantly predicted agripreneurship intention. Combined, these dimensions accounted for 46% of the variance (R² = 0.460, F = 156.78, p < .001). No significant differences were found based on college type (federal vs. state) or gender. The study concluded that institutional support is a significant predictor of agripreneurship intention, although financial support and active student organisations remain areas requiring improvement. Recommendations include establishing college-based agribusiness incubation hubs with dedicated seed funding, increasing budgetary allocations for student-led agripreneurship projects, strengthening industry-academia linkages, and investing in faculty mentorship programmes.

Agripreneurship intention, Institutional support, Supportive norms, Innovative culture

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