Islamic Values and Their Influence on Youth Agropreneurship Mindset Challenges
Abstract
The Agropreneur Muda program by the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries (MAFI) is one of the federal government’s initiatives to reduce the unemployment rate among youth while simultaneously modernizing agricultural practices in Malaysia. This program has received financial and institutional support from selected agencies to ensure its sustainability, but this support is still seen as insufficient. The core issue that hinders the program’s effectiveness stems from internal mindset challenges frequently faced by young farmers, such as unrealistic expectations, reliance on government aid, and a lack of entrepreneurial discipline. Previous studies have mainly focused on external issues rather than internal ones. This article focuses more on the role of Islamic values, which are viewed as one of the key initiatives to address internal issues among Muslim youth agropreneurs participating in this program. This study employed a qualitative approach by combining document analysis and semi-structured interviews with program participants. The findings show that the solutions emphasized from an Islamic perspective include integrity (amanah), perseverance (sabr), and responsibility (mas’uliyyah) in overcoming issues related to entrepreneurial discipline and reducing dependence on external aid. In conclusion, Islamic values must be incorporated into training modules to ensure the continuity and excellence of young farmers in sustaining the agricultural sector over the long term.
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