Abstract:
Though Zimbabwe is an agro-based economy, there has been a continued decrease in the
sectorial contribution of agriculture to the gross domestic product (GDP). The reliance on
government inputs support has stifled innovativeness and creativity by downplaying
entrepreneurial competency as a necessity in favour of inputs emphasis resulting in a skills gap.
The rationale is based on a simplistic view that inputs support leads to high output yet there are
other factors which this study seeks to explore and provide a model to plug knowledge gaps in
this area. This study employed a positivist philosophy and its intent was to determine the effect
of entrepreneurial competences on Agricultural Performance. The study used a sample of 384
farmers as respondents. A Spearman’s rank order correlation was run to determine the
relationship between entrepreneurial competencies and agricultural performance and there was
a strong, positive correlation, rs = 0.946, p <0.05. On the ANOVA (Analysis of Variance), the
polynomial model of action significantly predicted agricultural performance, F (2, 381) =
1542.612, p <0.05. The positive beta weights showed that the increase of entrepreneurial
competences also increases the agricultural performance of farmers. The study recommends
that the Government of Zimbabwe implements an ‘agro-entrepreneurial framework’ which entails
the training of farmers in entrepreneurial competences. Government needs also to identify a pool
of farmers who will be trained in entrepreneurial competences and be supported with capital and
be monitored. The Education 5.0 policy can be roped in and Universities can train and incubate
farmers in their localities on entrepreneurial competences. The industrial hubs existing under
education 5.0 can be adapted to be the commercial hubs for the agricultural business activities
in Zimbabwe.
