Multifunctional agriculture: an approach for entrepreneurship development of agricultural sector

The purpose of this paper is to compare and analyze agricultural transition periods in order to provide a new framework for agricultural development in Iran. Considering the foreseeable future, an innovative or knowledge-based economy will substitute the obsolete economy. In that respect, agriculture sector must adapt to these alternations in order to cope with the posed challenges. Multifunctional agriculture seems to be an enhanced alternative in which entrepreneurship is at the center of it. The results indicate that the focus of the Nation’s policies is on agricultural productivism, as well as the assertion of developmental programs that are toward the more involvement of post-productivism in decision-making. Though, the need for entertaining and establishing a more comprehensive conception on Iranian rural and agricultural thought and practice is sensible. It seems that Iran can also benefit from multifunctional agriculture toward sustainability and the production of healthy food. To move toward multifunctional agriculture, which is the same as entrepreneurial agriculture, at first, the economic theory, which is upheld, ought to be altered and taken toward an innovative economy. As a consequence, the agricultural system should also be changed and multifunctional agriculture should be considered while environmental considerations need to be enabled to achieve more entrepreneurial agriculture. To achieve this feat, agricultural education as an enabler of developing non-traditional attitude, entrepreneurial intentions, competencies, identities, and entrepreneurial experiences among young future farmers should not be ignored.