Agripreneurship refers to entrepreneurship in agriculture. An entrepreneur is someone who sets up a business, taking on financial risk in the hope of making profit. Entrepreneurs are usually creative, take opportunities and accept risks, and can quickly change business strategies to adapt to changing environments.
Agripreneurs are therefore influenced by external, systemic factors, such as economic and social barriers, policies, and regulations. While these factors affect all farmers, in particular smallholders, women and youth are particularly affected by external shocks, barriers and imposing conditions.
Viewed from a multidisciplinary perspective, agripreneurship brings together questions of agricultural production, innovation, environmental protection, food security and rural-urban linkages.
One of SLU Global’s themes from 2017-2019 was Efficiency in Farming Systems, which among other themes placed a focus on Youth and Agriculture and in particular the role of entrepreneurship in youth empowerment. AGcelerate is one initiative connected to this theme, which is a multistakeholder partnership that connects academia with agricultural practice in the global south. SLU collaborations through SIANI and AgriFoSe2030 look specifically at entrepreneurship in the context of low and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa. SIANI engages with questions of youth and entrepreneurship, focusing on skills development and capacity building, whilst also placing a strong focus on women empowerment and gender relations in agriculture.
Contact:
Teun Dekker, Researcher, Department of Plant Protection Biology.
Email: teun.dekker@slu.se,
Kostas Karantininis, Professor, Department of People and Society.
Email: karantininis.konstantinos@slu.se
Andrew Gallagher
Coordinator for Food and Cities
andrew.gallagher@slu.se
SLU Future Food
futurefood@slu.se
SLU Urban Futures
urbanfutures@slu.se
www.slu.se/urbanfutures
SLU Alnarp
SLU Urban Futures
Enheten för samverkan och utveckling
Box 190
234 22 Lomma