Ridha Rizki Novanda1, Leo Rio Ependi Malau2, Khoiru Rizqy Rambe3, Achmad Amiruddin4,5 and Hamdayanty6
1 Department of Socio-Economics of Agriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bengkulu, Bengkulu 38112, Indonesia
2 Research Center for Behavioral and Circular Economics, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), South Jakarta 12710, Indonesia
3 Research Centre for Economics of Industry, Services, and Trade, National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), South Jakarta 12710, Indonesia
4 Department of Agricultural Socio-economics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Hasanuddin, 90245 Makassar, Indonesia
5 International Doctoral Program in Agriculture (IDPA), National Chung Hsing University, Taichung City 402, Taiwan
6 Ehime University, Dōgohimata, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-0825, Japan
Novanda, R. R., Malau, L. R. E., Rambe, K. R., Amiruddin, A. & Hamdayanty. (2026). Investigating the determinants of entrepreneurial intentions among agriculture university students in economically disadvantaged regions of Indonesia. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 32(1), 3–18
Considering the consistent reliance of Sumatra Island on agricultural sector, coupled with high poverty rate, the development of agriculture-based entrepreneurship by the younger generation is expected to alleviate poverty. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the determinants of entrepreneurial intentions among agricultural university students in the impoverished regions of Sumatra, specifically in the provinces of Aceh and Bengkulu, using the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework. The data were collected from 165 agricultural students in Aceh and Bengkulu, through an online survey between March and April 2020. Subsequently, the data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the hypotheses and the conceptual framework developed. The results showed that perceived behavioral control (PBC) had a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurial intentions, while subjective norm (SN) and attitude toward behavior (ATB) did not have a significant impact. In this study, the implication was that individuals with higher behavioral control over entrepreneurial behavior, tended to develop stronger intentions to become entrepreneurs. Analyzing and understanding the role of perceived behavioral control in shaping entrepreneurial intentions could help inform strategies to foster entrepreneurial mindset and encourage entrepreneurship among individuals. These results provided recommendations to help enhance entrepreneurial intentions among agricultural students.