Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the emerging literature on sustainable entrepreneurship by studying knowledge, motivation and early stage outcomes of sustainable agricultural entrepreneurship in the context of farmer groups in Burundi.Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative and qualitative data were combined in a multiple-source case study. Data were analyzed using content analysis and basic statistics.Findings: Results revealed that farmer groups’ prior knowledge (PK) on environmental sustainability is better developed than their social and economic sustainability. This is reflected in the environmental sustainability part of the business plans (BPs), which is generally better than the economic and social sustainability parts. Moreover, the top groups on PK identified opportunities directly related to their PK. Pro-activeness of the group was a more determining factor than risk taking and innovativeness. Furthermore, there seemed to be a positive interplay between the groups’ PK, entrepreneurial orientation and knowledge motivation (KM) and the quality of the sustainable BP. In particular, KM seemed to be important, but other variables also explained the quality of the BP, such as level of education.Originality/value: This research fills a gap in literature because there are few empirical studies on agricultural entrepreneurship that focus on the earliest phase of opportunity recognition, let alone studies that focus on sustainable opportunity recognition in the context of emerging economies such as Burundi. Furthermore, in this research, the authors studied well-known knowledge, motivations and outcomes of sustainable entrepreneurship.

Stopping land degradation is one of the biggest challenges worldwide and particularly in Burundi, with its unprecedented rates of soil loss and growing food insecurity. This article proposes a different discourse on how to engage people in stopping land degradation, and presents results and lessons learned from a bottom‐up inclusive approach implemented since 2014 in Burundi: the integrated farm planning (PIP) approach. The PIP approach aims to build a solid foundation for sustainable change toward enhanced food production and good land stewardship, based on three foundation principles (motivation, stewardship, and resilience) and three guiding principles (empowerment, integration, and collaboration). This article is based on two studies undertaken in 2018: an impact study among 202 households and a qualitative study using the most significant change methodology with 30 households. Findings from both studies provide initial support that the PIP approach generates considerable changes at household, farm, and village level. Based on a vision and a plan for their farm, motivated PIP households are currently investing in the resilience of their farms and applying a diversity of conservation practices, while in all PIP villages concrete collective action is undertaken for sustainable land stewardship. Given its rapid upscaling in Burundi and the potential of the PIP approach to mobilize farmers for motivated action, the article concludes with a reflection on the core elements of a different discourse to stop land degradation.