Entrepreneurial Competence and Business Sustainability of Rural Agripreneurs in West Sumatra
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37899/mjdm.v2i2.252Keywords:
Entrepreneurial Competence, Business Sustainability Rural, Agripreneurs, Financial Literacy, West SumatraAbstract
Agriculture remains the backbone of rural livelihoods in West Sumatra, where farming continues to provide both income and food security for local communities. However, the sustainability of agribusiness ventures extends beyond land ownership and resource availability; it critically depends on the entrepreneurial competence of agripreneurs to anticipate risks, plan strategically, and innovate within increasingly competitive markets. This study examines the influence of entrepreneurial competence on business sustainability among rural agripreneurs in West Sumatra using a quantitative survey design involving 120 randomly selected respondents. Data were collected through structured questionnaires encompassing demographic characteristics, entrepreneurial competence dimensions business planning, marketing, and financial management and sustainability indicators across economic, social, and environmental domains. Statistical analysis revealed that agripreneurs possessed moderate competence in business planning and marketing but exhibited deficiencies in financial literacy and environmental stewardship. Business planning and financial management were identified as the strongest predictors of sustainability, while marketing competence showed a weaker but positive association. Despite contributing to local economic growth, limited strategic foresight and low adoption of sustainable and digital practices constrained long-term viability. Strengthening entrepreneurial competence through targeted training and policy interventions is therefore essential to enhance resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability among rural agripreneurs in West Sumatra.
References
Ali, J., Affandi, H., & Rehmani, A. A. (2025). Fostering Agri-preneurship: Exploring the Role of Startup Ecosystems in Transforming Agricultural Innovation and Sustainability. Dialogue Social Science Review (DSSR), 3(2), 294-318.
Alibašić, H. (2018). Sustainability and resilience planning for local governments. The Quadruple Bottom Line Strategy. Springer, New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72568-0
Arumugam, U., & Manida, M. (2023). Agripreneurship for sustainable economic development in India. ComFin Research, 11(4), 15-23. https://doi.org/10.34293/commerce.v11i4.6662
Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of management, 17(1), 99-120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Gadanakis, Y. (2024). Advancing farm entrepreneurship and agribusiness management for sustainable agriculture. Agriculture, 14(8), 1288. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14081288
Garwi, J. (2024). Exploring the Ethical Dimensions of Sustainable Agritourism in Central Angola: Unveiling the Role of Local Actors in Fostering Economic Growth and Environmental Conservation. In Agritourism in Africa (pp. 96-118). Routledge.
Haldar, S. (2019). Towards a conceptual understanding of sustainability‐driven entrepreneurship. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(6), 1157-1170. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1763
Imanuella, S. F., Idris, A., & Kamaruddin, N. (2025). Social entrepreneurship and rural development in post-independence Indonesia. Social Enterprise Journal, 21(1), 46-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/SEJ-12-2023-0155
Johar, D. (2014). Peran modal sosial dalam meningkatkan peran lembaga keuangan mikro dalam pembangunan pertanian di sumatera barat. Jurnal Ekonomi, 16(3), 285-299. https://doi.org/10.37721/je.v16i3.257
Júnior, A. B., & Bliska, F. M. D. M. (2022). Transforming the Farmer into a Rural Entrepreneur as a Path to Sustainability. Agronomy, 12(4), 898. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12040898
Kademani, S., Nain, M. S., Singh, R., Kumar, S., Parsad, R., Sharma, D. K., ... & Patil, M. (2024). Unveiling challenges and strategizing solutions for sustainable agri-entrepreneurship development. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 8, 1447371. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1447371
Kamarudin, M. A. I., Abaidah, T. N. A. T., Kamarruddin, N. N. A., & Rahim, N. A. A. (2025). The Effect of Opportunity Focus and Value Creation on the Performance of Agropreneur Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Emerging Market: The Role of Government Support Programs (GSPs) as Moderating Variable. PaperASIA, 41(1b), 133-147. https://doi.org/10.59953/paperasia.v41i1b.294
Khairati, R., Penawan, E., & Zakaria, R. S. (2025). Pemetaan Sumatera Barat Berdasarkan Sumber Pendapatan Utama Masyarakat dengan Pendekatan Karakteristik Wilayah. Journal of Socio-economics on Tropical Agriculture, 7(1), 12-19. https://doi.org/10.25077/joseta.v7i1.617
Loorbach, D., & Wijsman, K. (2013). Business transition management: exploring a new role for business in sustainability transitions. Journal of cleaner production, 45, 20-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.11.002
Meintjes, A., & Hofmeyr, K. (2018). The impact of resilience and perceived organisational support on employee engagement in a competitive sales environment. SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(1), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v16i0.953
More, V. (2024). Agri-prenuers: Their Role in Developing Agriculture Domain and Achieving Sustainable Economic Development. Researchers World, 15(1), 21-26. https://doi.org/10.18843/rwjasc/v15i1/03
Naminse, E. Y., & Zhuang, J. (2018). Does farmer entrepreneurship alleviate rural poverty in China? Evidence from Guangxi Province. PloS one, 13(3), e0194912. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194912
North, D., & Smallbone, D. (2006). Developing entrepreneurship and enterprise in Europe's peripheral rural areas: Some issues facing policy-makers. European planning studies, 14(1), 41-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/09654310500339125
Odewale, S. A., Odekanle, E. L., & Fakinle, B. S. (2023). Global environmental sustainability and agrochemical use. In One health implications of agrochemicals and their sustainable alternatives (pp. 735-764). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.3390/microbiolres16070164
Olatidoye, O. P. (2024). Agripreneurship Curriculum Development: Quest for Food Security and Sustainability. In Agripreneurship and the Dynamic Agribusiness Value Chain (pp. 383-404). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-7429-6_22
Pindado, E., & Sánchez, M. (2017). Researching the entrepreneurial behaviour of new and existing ventures in European agriculture. Small Business Economics, 49(2), 421-444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-017-9837-y
Raman, K., & Rani, J. (2024). A review on the agripreneurial orientation and market orientation of smallholder organic vegetables farmer’s, in India: A conceptual model. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 6. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2024ss0417
Santandreu‐Mascarell, C., Garzon, D., & Knorr, H. (2013). Entrepreneurial and innovative competences, are they the same?. Management Decision, 51(5), 1084-1095. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-11-2012-0792
Schaltegger, S., Loorbach, D., & Hörisch, J. (2023). Managing entrepreneurial and corporate contributions to sustainability transitions. Business Strategy and the Environment, 32(2), 891-902. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.3080
Scorrano, P., Borin, E., Thrassou, A., Cavallo, F., & Mastroleo, G. (2025). Knowledge sharing between businesses and stakeholders for systemic and sustainable regional development. Insights in the agri-food sector. Journal of Knowledge Management, 29(4), 1278-1300. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKM-05-2024-0517
Scott, M. (2014). Media and development. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Setiawan, H. H., Yuda, T. K., Susantyo, B., Sulubere, M. B., Ganti, M., Habibullah, H., ... & Murni, R. (2023). Scaling up social entrepreneurship to reduce poverty: Exploring the challenges and opportunities through stakeholder engagement. Frontiers in Sociology, 8, 1131762. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2023.1131762
Sithole, M., Agholor, I., Morepje, M., Msweli, N., Ndlovu, S., & Mgwenya, L. (2024). Smallholder transition to Agripreneurship: The role of agricultural extension education. International Journal, 80(10/1). https://doi.org/10.21506/j.ponte.2024.10.6
Ulvenblad, P., Barth, H., Ulvenblad, P. O., Ståhl, J., & Björklund, J. C. (2020). Overcoming barriers in agri-business development: two education programs for entrepreneurs in the Swedish agricultural sector. The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 26(5), 443-464. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2020.1748669?urlappend=%3Futm_source%3Dresearchgate.net%26medium%3Darticle
Yasir, M., Hossain, A., & Pratap-Singh, A. (2025). Pesticide degradation: Impacts on soil fertility and nutrient cycling. Environments, 12(8), 272. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12080272
Zaca, F. N., Wale, E., & Chipfupa, U. (2025). The relationship between social grant dependence and on-farm entrepreneurial behaviour: Evidence from smallholder farmers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Heliyon, 11(15). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e43811
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Maroon Journal De Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This journal provides direct open access to it's content on the principle that research is freely available to the public supporting a greater global exchange of knowledge. All articles published by Open Access will soon and forever be free for everyone to read and download. The license options defined for this journal are Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
