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A Short-Term Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurship Curriculum Framework for Latin America and the Caribbean
Abstract
Youth agricultural entrepreneurship programs have been enacted in Latin America and the Caribbean to engage youth in their communities and increase their employment. However, youth agricultural entrepreneurship programs lack cohesiveness in curriculum content preventing inclusion of vital components. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate a short-term agricultural entrepreneurship curriculum framework for youth in Latin America and the Caribbean by identifying the core competencies for a short-term agricultural entrepreneurship program and determining Dominican rural youths’ entrepreneurial intent and program training needs. Using the Delphi Technique, 15 knowledge, 15 skill, and 15 characteristic competencies were identified by a 20 person panel of experts over the course of three rounds. These competencies encompassed technical agriculture knowledge, business skills, and soft skills including valueadded production, evaluating a business opportunity, business planning, communication, financial literacy, ambition, and creativity. Fifty-four students at ITESMARENA in the Dominican Republic completed the needs assessment which assessed entrepreneurial intent and competency gaps. The needs assessment found that some of the students were interested in becoming entrepreneurs, but they lacked the Delphi-identified competencies. The students did prioritize several competencies different than the experts (i.e., sales, finance, project management, regional markets, organized, and persuasive). The findings of the Delphi study, needs assessment, and literature review informed the creation of the Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurship Curriculum (YAEC) Framework. The YAEC Framework is a flexible tool that development professionals, educators, and government personnel can use to guide their youth
agricultural entrepreneurship program creation and implementation.
Subject
rural enterpriseinternational development
small business development
small and medium enterprises
Citation
Zickafoose, Alexis N (2023). A Short-Term Youth Agricultural Entrepreneurship Curriculum Framework for Latin America and the Caribbean. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /198955.