Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship  
cannot be taught but 
it can be  improved 
through training  
Training in  
entrepreneurship 
focuses on business 
skills, knowledge and 
behaviour

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Developing entrepeneurial 
skills, behaviour and attitudes
Expanding exposures to 
business world to sharpen 
business opportunity 
identification capabilities
Develop awareness  
of one’s own 
predisposition  
and capability  
for setting up and  
running a business
Developing real insights 
into the business  
development process,  
its rewards,  
demands, pitfalls  
and competency 
requirements
Pre-establishment
76                                                  
Entrepreneurship in farming
Figure 11
Key elements of learning 
in the pre-establishment 
stage
Pre-establishing:  During  this  planning  phase  of  the 
business, training programmes should aim at developing 
basic  entrepreneurial  skills  such  as  self-awareness, 
spotting  opportunities,  and  understanding  and  insight 
into the business development process.  
 
An  example  of  such  training  is  one  designed 
for  youth.  The  purpose  is  not  just  to  have  young 
people  begin  immediately  as  entrepreneurs  or  self-
employed people, taking risks and ’diving’ in. Rather it 
is to make them aware of the opportunities, challenges, 
procedures, characteristics, attitudes and skills needed 
for  entrepreneurship  in  preparation  for  looking  for  and 
starting a business opportunity. 
Figure 10
five Stages 
of Enterprise 
Development
Five stages of farm enterprise development
Establishment
Pre-
establishment
Survival
Rapid 
growth
maturity 
(and possible 
decline)
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Broad  
decisions
Practical 
decisions
Business  
strategies
Change in 
production?
Business  
strategies
New  
enterprise?
Business  
strategies
validate 
business ideas
Business  
strategies
Building entrepreneurship skills 
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Establishment
At this stage, farmers validate their business ideas, and 
make the decision whether or not to implement the idea. 
This  requires  making  decisions  about  products,  target 
markets, and business strategies. Depending on the size 
and complexity of the idea, the start-up process could 
either be short or long. 
 
Once  a  final  decision  is  made  to  start  the  new 
enterprise or implement the change in current production, 
resources need to be mobilised and linkages need to 
be made to establish the business. During this stage in 
the process, farmers require specific competencies and 
capabilities.  Training  and  development  often  involves 
reinforcing  management  skills  and  developing  farm 
business  plans.  During  this  stage  of  the  process  and 
at  the  start  of  the  programme,  basic  and  introductory 
training in farm business management is given. 
 
The participants then begin the iterative (do-a-little; 
learn-little) process involved in starting or diversifying a 
business. The farmer learns by doing as he goes through 
the various steps of setting-up the business. This approach 
makes  it  possible  for  the  extension  worker  to  identify 
Figure 12
Weighing up broad 
and practical decisions 
Training must fit 
individual learning 
needs and match the