Agricultural Workforce Development: Applying Theory of Planned Behavior to train Agro-Entrepreneurs

This qualitative study aimed to examine the impact of a mushroom cultivation training initiative in a small community in central Ghana on participants’ inclination to be agro-entrepreneurs after the training. This training was designed to mitigate multiple issues in the Ghanaian community, including air pollution from burning sawdust at a local sawmill, children’s malnutrition, and a high unemployment rate. Local community members participated in the training sessions to gain expertise and proficiency in establishing mushroom farms, thus fostering a natural formation of a community of practice for the exchange of knowledge and skills. A total of 150 individuals from the local community underwent the mushroom cultivation training. We observed participants in training, and 15 selected participants subsequently participated in semi-structured interviews. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was adopted as a conceptual framework to discover participants’ initial motivations to participate in the training, their experience during the training, and their intention to start mushroom farming following the training. Through the process of constant comparative analysis, this study explored the relationship between participants' behavioral intent to become agro-entrepreneurs and various influencing factors, such as their initial motivation, knowledge and skills development, sense of control, external supports, anticipated future challenges, and community of practice. The findings reveal that membership in a community of practice was the strongest influence on their entrepreneurial intent. Within the community of practice, they collectively identified challenges which led to increased doubts about their abilities and a tendency to avoid the uncertainties of becoming agro-entrepreneurs. As a contribution to the implementation of the TPB, this study shed light on the importance of a community of practice as a place to develop subjective norms. It is a collaborative learning space as well as a place where participants cogenerate shared emotions and collective opinions and make collective decisions.