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To cite: Mukhopadhyay, B.R. and Mukhopadhyay, B.K. (2020). What is Agripreneurship, and why India needs it,
The Sentinel, Editorial, 12th March
To cite: Mukhopadhyay, B.R. and Mukhopadhyay, B.K. (2020). What is Agripreneurship, and why
India needs it, The Sentinel, Editorial, 12th March
What is Agripreneurship, and why India needs?
By Dr. Boidurjo Mukhopadhyay, Prof (Dr.) Bibhas K Mukhopadhyay
For starters in this area - an entrepreneur is
someone who organises, starts, operates and in
effective control of a business or commercial
venture. S/he could also be an innovator in
product/ service/ process or design and can
maximise profits by adopting new strategies or
ventures. Quite similar, Agripreneur is an
individual who starts, organises and manages a
business venture focusing on the agricultural
sector. Broadly, Agri-entrepreneurship or
Agripreneurship provides value addition to
agricultural resources typically engaging rural
human resources. The finished goods and
services coming out of Agrientrepreneurial
initiatives are generally procured and
produced out of resources in rural areas, the
consumption of which however may be both
urban and rural. Agricultural entrepreneurship
is not remotely dissimilar to other forms of
entrepreneurship, e.g., for-profit entrepreneurship,
sustainable entrepreneurship, social
entrepreneurship, eco-entrepreneurship, but
To cite: Mukhopadhyay, B.R. and Mukhopadhyay, B.K. (2020). What is Agripreneurship, and why India needs it,
The Sentinel, Editorial, 12th March
maintains the specific context of the
agricultural sector.
Alike most other forms of entrepreneurship -
opportunity identification, resource
organisation, risk-taking and profit-making are
characteristics that applies to an Agripreneur as
well, specifically in the context of farm sector
however. They will identify opportunities in
agri or related industry and launch an
enterprise either as a farmer, distributor and
sometimes act as an agent in the B2B2C model
also. Business planning, market analysis,
managing equipment, production operation,
negotiating and customer relation skills,
marketing and sales, financial and developing
training programmes, are some of the many
key skills essential in running an agribusiness.
The key four of many areas that
Agripreneurship services are crop advice,
agricultural input sales, market linkages and
credit facilitation. One close spinoff of
Agripreneurship is the development of
Sustainable Agriculture, which means “a
holistic, systems-oriented approach to farming
that focuses on the interrelationships of social,
economic, and environmental processes”.
Agripreneurship can already be seen in Dairy,
Sericulture, Goat rearing, Rabbit rearing,
Floriculture, Fisheries, Shrimp Farming, Sheep
rearing, vegetable cultivation, nursery farming,
and also farm forestry. In addition,
Agripreneurs develop initiatives such as Agro-
produce processing units (Rice and pulses
mills), Agro-Produce manufacturing units
(Sugar and Bakery factories/units), Agro-
Inputs manufacturing units (Fertilizer
production units food processing units), Agro-
service centres (service centres for repairing
agri-based tools and equipment), and also other
agri enterprises that sets up Apiaries, feed and
seed processing units, mushroom production
units, commercial vermin-compost units,
organic vegetable and fruits retail outlet, and
also the much debated jatropha cultivation.
Newer forms of Agripreneurship models link
farmers to markets, both rural and urban, and
adopts a decentralised approach in order to
boost youth entrepreneurship and contribute to
developing regional economies. These models
also integrate services of credit, market
linkages and also high-quality input, crop
advisory to large cohorts of farmers. With
effective management of different agri
elements, an individual with risk bearing
capacity and a quest for latest knowledge in
agriculture sector could prove to be a right
Agripreneurs. Agripreneurship is not only an
opportunity but also a necessary force for
improving the production and profitability in
agriculture sector.
Entrepreneurial education is a key factor to
consider nonetheless, this could transform the
functionality and impact of agripreneurs. For
example, in the Dongbei region of China,
specifically Jilin Province, an
Agrientrepreneurial initiative brought together
Coca-Cola company and WWF to support over
6000 smallholders (i.e. farmers who owns a
small plot of
land on which they grow self-sustaining crops,
and who rely mainly on family labour.) corn
farmers by skill-development and information
provision programmes primarily to conserve
water, keep and maintain wetlands, boost agri
yields (particularly in Harbin region that
produces and leads in Rice production) and
also to reduce climate change effects of
agriculture. This project could be replicated in
various other parts of the world as well,
particularly fit the Indian context also.
Evidence suggests that sustainable
intensification measures act as a catalyst in
reducing rural poverty, food scarcity,
upgrading farming techniques, and also saving
the environment. To create the right supportive
and enabling environment, requires well-
structured institutional arrangements (e.g.,
public-private partnerships) to implement
policies and make investments that motivate
farmers at every level to increase production
responsibly and ensures availability of
equitable food distribution and logistics in both
food surplus and deficit regions.
To cite: Mukhopadhyay, B.R. and Mukhopadhyay, B.K. (2020). What is Agripreneurship, and why India needs it,
The Sentinel, Editorial, 12th March
Besides developing regional economies,
reducing rural poverty and boosting agri
yields, Agripreneurship also it helps in
inducing productivity gains by smallholder
farmers and integrating them into local,
national and international markets. It helps in
reducing food costs, supply uncertainties and
improving the diets of the rural and urban poor
in the country. It also generating growth,
increasing and diversifying income, and
providing entrepreneurial opportunities in
both rural and urban areas.
For India, agriculture feeds and provides
nutrition requirements of 1.3 billion people in
addition to creating work for about 60% Indian
population through forward and backward
linkages. The entrepreneurial ecosystem in
India has been lauded internationally, the
public-private partnership models have also
acted in favor of youth entrepreneurship
development.
While India has emerged as one of the top three
countries globally in term of the number of
start-ups founded, the start-up ecosystem for
agri-entrepreneurship or Agripreneurship
does not present a happy scene. For example, in
2015 out of $6 billion invested in an overall tech
start-up, the agriculture sector managed to
attract less than 1% investment. However, in
2016, a sum of $3.23b was invested in
agriculture sector worldwide, out of which 53
Indian agri-tech start-ups managed to raise
$313m. One would like to believe ‘slow and
steady wins…’, but regional/ state-wise
inequality in attraction investment remained a
challenge even in 2019. The disperse nature of
investment in agripreneurship made in India
should invite more debate and mainstream
focus.
India needs Agripreneurship. This specific type
of entrepreneurship discussed could generate
innovative solutions to some of the critical
agricultural issues such as firstly,
entrepreneurs can use precision farming
techniques to increase crops productivity.
Currently, India produces 2.4 tons per hectare
(t/ha) of rice and 3.15 (t/ha) of wheat, which is
far below China’s yield of 4.7 (t/ha) for rice and
4.9 (t/ha) for wheat respectively.
Secondly, the input costs can be minimized by
incorporating data-driven decision making and
smoothening efficacy in the farm supply chain.
Currently for an output of Rs. 100, the input
cost is Rs. 64. This typically makes
agribusinesses to be perceived as a low-profit
enterprise and thereby reduces investment
attractiveness. Thirdly, to reduce colossal crop
wastages, new entrepreneurial ventures could
improve supply chain infrastructure and
innovative storage facility, crops worth $14
billion are wasted each year in India.
Indian Agripreneurs could adopt some of the
successful tech ventures in agriculture from
other neighbouring developing countries
where their counterparts have integrated
Remote Sensing (that can provide bio-
geophysical data for agricultural crop
monitoring and agro-metadvisory services),
Geographic Information System (GIS), Internet
of Things (IoT based smart farming is a system
built for monitoring crop field with the help of
sensors that provide data on temperature, soil
moisture, light and humidity. This helps to
monitor crop health, automating irrigation
systems, etc.), and applying analytics to
improve farm productivity, minimise farm
wastage and thereby increasing farmers’
income. These technologies can also be used to
map the cropping pattern, cropping intensity,
draught assessment and better understand the
agronomics of crops. A report by Accenture
estimates the digital agriculture services
market will hit $4.55 Billion by 2020 globally,
thus, pointing out to the fact that agri-tech start-
ups in the world as well as India are bound to
grow.
To cite: Mukhopadhyay, B.R. and Mukhopadhyay, B.K. (2020). What is Agripreneurship, and why India needs it,
The Sentinel, Editorial, 12th March