Indian agri‐seed industry: understanding the entrepreneurial process

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to discuss and analyse the entrepreneurial process in Indian seed business and factors affecting entrepreneurship in this sector.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on in‐depth personal interviews with 40 entrepreneurs involved in 31 seed ventures belonging to five districts covering three states of India – Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttarakhand. These firms were selected following the convenient method of sampling. All major components of entrepreneurial process – personal traits and background of the entrepreneur, legal and financial environment, and market structure – were studied in detail. Descriptive and relational data‐analytic methods were adopted such as frequency distribution, cross tabulation, and correlation analysis.FindingsRealizing the importance of availability of quality seed to the farming community in adequate quantity in the country, current government policies are geared towards promoting and fostering entrepreneurship in seed industry in India. The paper finds that the firms established during last five to ten years have shown continuous growth indicating attractiveness of the industry. Ability to build entrepreneurial team with complementary skills and knowledge and experience of the lead entrepreneurs are found to be the critical success factors in this industry.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of the paper is based on mainly qualitative data/information collected only from 40 entrepreneurs belonging to 31 seed ventures.Practical implicationsThe study findings have implications for policy makers as well as for prospective entrepreneurs. It will help in designing appropriate policy instruments promote and foster entrepreneurship on one hand and provide suggestions for new entrepreneurs for creating sustainable new seed ventures on the other.Originality/valueThe paper is original and value loaded in the sense that this provides the practical implications for understanding the entrepreneurial process in a very critical segment of the agriculture sector.