Coping with public-private partnership issues: A path forward to sustainable agriculture

Abstract

Public-private partnerships are crucial for advancing agricultural sustainability and tackling issues related to enhancing global food security. They help make technology accessible to farmers so they can access markets. As PPPs bring together participants from the public, private, and civil society, they are commonly touted as a means of boosting productivity and fostering growth in the agriculture and food sectors. The PPP can assist in implementing cutting-edge technological breakthroughs and promoting private sector participation to reduce risks that could otherwise be excessive. PPPs are commonly understood as having the potential to modernize the agriculture industry and offer numerous concessions to help farmers achieve sustainable agricultural growth. The objective of the present study is to understand how these new partnerships are expected to play significant roles in identifying answers to the most important agricultural problems that Indian Agriculture is confronting. The study further aims to understand the critical issues in PPPs in the agriculture sector in the Indian context by analyzing their interrelationships and prioritization. The study utilizes Grey DEMATEL to determine these contextual relationships for PPP issues. Grey systems theory is a methodology that incorporates improbability and vagueness into the analysis. The critical issues in agricultural PPPs, as identified in the study, are “Complex and Time-Consuming Procedures”, “Governance Issues”, “Lack of Enabling Environment”, “Costly Contracting and Endogenous Contract Incompleteness”, and “Coordination Failures”. The present paper makes an effort to provide a detailed and exhaustive assessment of difficulties in agriculture PPPs in India, as well as a path forward for policymakers.