Mbulaheni Mavhungu
Abstract
The objective of this research was to determine the relationship between gender and agriculture students’ personal attitudes to start a farming business. Also, the moderating effect of family business status and the area raised on the relationship was determined. An estimated 3,486 students were enrolled for various agriculture-related qualifications in various institutions of higher learning in South Africa when this cross-sectional, quantitative study was carried out. Data from 421 agricultural students were collected through a Prospective Farmers Profile Questionnaire at six institutions of higher learning in the country. The study revealed that gender has no significant influence on students’ personal attitudes to start a farming business. The findings further revealed that family business status and the area where agricultural students were raised do not moderate the relationship between gender and students’ personal attitudes to starting a farming business. The findings suggest that the construct cannot be regarded as useful for evaluating students’ personal attitudes to starting a business. Based on the research findings, the present study can be extended in several directions, e.g. students from Economics or Humanities faculties for further research to determine the influence of gender on the personal attitude of students to start a business in these fields.