Agri Business Research Articles

Women's Agripreneurship in India's Maharashtra State: An Analysis of the AC and ABC Scheme

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the Agri Clinics and Agri Business Centers (AC&ABC) scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India, on Women Agripreneurship (WA) in Maharashtra, India. Using secondary data from 2002-2022 the AC&ABC cell at the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), we assessed WA in Maharashtra. The analysis employed descriptive statistics and visual representations. Our findings indicate that the AC&ABC scheme has limited women's participation, with only 8.6% of trained candidates being women. Maharashtra State leads in terms of trained women and established agri-ventures. Notably, older women agripreneurs, particularly in the 53-60 age group, exhibit the highest success rate. Additionally, diploma holders have a success rate of 53.95%, and preferences lean towards Livestock Farming, Agri Clinics, and Agri Business Centers. In terms of practical implications, our study underscores the need for enhanced training and support for women entrepreneurs in agriculture. Policymakers should focus on expanding training programs, providing greater financial resources, and establishing more extensive marketing networks. From a theoretical standpoint, our research highlights the untapped potential of women in agriculture and their role in promoting rural development, poverty alleviation, and women's empowerment with the support of policymakers. This study is the first exploratory examination of women participating in the AC&ABC scheme in Maharashtra, India, aimed at promoting WA. The AC&ABC scheme stands as one of the world's largest government interventions in agripreneurship promotion. Our findings reveal critical factors influencing the success of women agripreneurs in the region, offering valuable guidance for future research.

Perception and Challenges of Rural Youth Towards Agribusiness

Indian agriculture today does not stand on any one level when it comes to its development. Transition of agriculture towards agribusiness conveys that present day farmers are practicing agriculture in professional manner with intent of transforming it into commercial and more profitable activity as compared to early days. Agri-business generates potential employment opportunities too in agribusiness management and trade. Due to its nature of covering a wide range of activities of differing magnitude, agribusiness has got tremendous scope. The youth cohort plays a pivotal role across nations, exhibiting vibrancy, innovation, dynamism, and a commendable enthusiasm required to catalyze prospects for domestic progress. They manifest ardor, drive, and a resolute mindset, rendering them an invaluable reservoir of human capital. The developmental trajectory of a nation is contingent upon the magnitude of its youthful demographic, underscoring their instrumental role in its advancement. Therefore, keeping all this in mind the present study was undertaken with the objective to explore the perception and challenges about agribusiness among rural youth. The study was conducted in four districts of Haryana state where Agri Business Centers were located. Thus from Bhiwani, Jind, Hisar, and Kurukshetra districts a sample of 240 rural youth from 16 villages formed the sample of the study. It was found that majority of the respondents had medium level of perception regarding economic, informational and technological aspects while high level of perception towards social and psychological aspects of Agribusiness activities. In relation to challenges perceived by rural youth in agribusiness, the study found that business know how and access to affordable employees were the most challenge that were perceived by youth when venture into agribusiness.

To chronicle the challenges encountered by stakeholders during the installation and operation of the agri clinic and agri business centers scheme in Madhya Pradesh state

To chronicle the challenges encountered by stakeholders during the installation and operation of the agri clinic and agri business centers scheme in Madhya Pradesh state

State subsidies to increase productivity in beef cattle breeding of the Republic of Kazakhstan: implementation tools

The aim is to justify measures of state stimulation of innovative processes in beef cattle breeding in Kazakhstan. Methods – monographic, financial and economic analysis, comparison, logical generalization. Results – main factors hindering the processes of effective application of innovations in animal husbandry are considered: consequences of the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic, the impact of human activity on the environment, which led to the degradation of pastures and reduction of natural forage base. It was revealed that these problems led to an increase in feed prices when raising beef cattle. At the same time, inflation disrupts the stability of production cycles and sustainability of agri business. The need to expand the meat products market is justified by the main task of public policy in agriculture – ensuring food security and physiological norms for consumption of meat and its products. The article focuses on the study of the mechanism of subsidizing beef cattle. The analysis of the main support programs for the subjects of this industry was carried out. Conclusions – degradation of pastures, lack of drinking points, high cost of animal feeding hinder the innovative activity of producers. Rational methods are proposed for restoring degraded pastures by drilling wells and installing tubular wells to extract groundwater. Calculations were made on the payback of investments received by farms, taking into account investment subsidies from the state. The authors state that the effective use of the available resources of beef cattle breeding, the gene pool of the most intensive breeds of domestic and world breeding, consistent public support for regional programs, and attraction of extra-budgetary funds will accelerate the development of cattle breeding farms in the republic.

Economic Performance of Enterprises Promoted under ARYA and Relationship with Entrepreneurial Competencies

Attracting and retaining youth in agriculture (ARYA) is a national programme of Indian Council of Agricultural Research implemented through Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) since 2016-17. The present investigation was carried out in 2021-22 with a total of 684 rural youth, randomly identified from among the functional units under various enterprises. Among the nine major enterprises promoted under ARYA, performance of poultry units were better in terms of operational duration and total turnover per enterprise despite incurring higher expenditure. Nursery enterprises showed the highest net income per unit and also created maximum assets. On the other hand, benefit-cost ratio was higher in piggery enterprises and per day net income was highest in processing and value addition units. More employment generation was recorded in fish and goat farming enterprises. The results indicated that each of the agri business areas have strengths on different parameters. Besides the choice of enterprises that are locally viable, the entrepreneurial competency of the entrepreneurs was essential to sustain the enterprises. Successful entrepreneurship promotion has the possibilities for attracting and retaining youth in rural areas through technology-supported agribusiness development.

The impact of organic food products on environmental wellness: Health and wellbeing of people

“Environmental Wellness” connect us with organic food products. Crops that are organically grown without any use of pesticides, fertilizers, any kind of synthetic herbicides or genetically modified organisms (GMOs) comes under organic food product. Food products grown through organic farming methods helps the environment to reduce the pollution, soil erosion, conservation of water enhances soil fertility and consumes less energy. Organically produced food products stimulates environmental wellness without leaving any toxic residue by replacing the conventional chemical fertilizers with natural alternatives that supports the human wellbeing the popularity of organic food products has been increased significantly but still it is less available in Indian food market. Many researchers have concluded that proponents of organic food have convinced that it is more beneficial to health and minimises the risk of diseases related to lifestyle such as overweight, cancers, heart attacks and many more. In India ‘Sikkim’ has managed to go 100% organic state. To be successful in Agri business, organic farming should create a balance between the cost it involved and its carbon footprints while taking into consideration the increasing demand by figuring out how to feed a growing population. The process of environmental wellness involves learning and contributing towards the health of the planet, establishing a sustainable lifestyle by protecting the natural resources and eliminating excessive waste. Environmental wellness plays active role in your community by creating awareness regarding 4R’s (reduce, reuse rethink, recycle) caring for energy conservation, eat locally produced food, increase the per capita income of local farmers and educating people on environmental issues. The purpose of this paper is to examine the current status of organic food products towards creating environment wellness the advantages and disadvantages of organic food products. Concluding, organic farmers, distributors and consumers should work together for formulation of well-established strategies for organic food products and provide a better place in environment.

Sarvaay Solutions – creating value innovation for farmers

Learning outcomes The case demonstrates the use of strategic management tools such as pros and cons analysis, SWOT analysis, strategy canvas, the four-action framework and the eliminate–reduce–raise–create grid to create a Blue Ocean.Through a discussion of the case, students will be able to:▪ conduct pros and cons analysis to objectively understand a situation;▪ conduct SWOT analysis to understand the internal and external ecosystem;▪ understand non-customers and paths to reach them;▪ demonstrate the role of strategy canvas and the four-action framework in designing a new offering; and▪ explain how to create a Blue Ocean market space, by implementing the concept of value innovation. Case overview/synopsis This case describes a situation in which Dr Vishal Sardeshpande (Sardeshpande), a first-generation entrepreneur in the agro and food processing industry, started Sarvaay Solutions to provide technological solutions for the sector, especially for the small/medium-sized farmer. Such farmers did not have access to technology and the markets to create value addition on their farm produce, and hence were at the mercy of the middlemen or the large farmers. After years of experimentation from 2006 till 2018, Sardeshpande made a resource-efficient jaggery manufacturing process (REJMP) in Pune to enable and empower the farmer to produce quality jaggery using their own sugarcane, which otherwise was sold to the middlemen. Sardeshpande knew the industry and was aware of the challenges faced by the farmers, traditional jaggery producers and cooperative farming bodies. In June 2022, while sitting in his house, Sardeshpande was struck with an idea that the key to success of REJMP is to empower farmers or traditional jaggery producers or cooperative farming bodies to create value from agriculture produce and wondered the way forward. The purpose of this case is to provide an opportunity for the participants to use management tools such as strategy canvas, four-action framework, Pros and Cons analysis and SWOT analysis to understand noncustomers and paths to reach them and understand new industry creation. Participants need to take into consideration the data given in the case and make realistic assumptions to understand how new industries are created. Complexity academic level The case engages the participants in deciding a suitable course of action for Sardeshpande to decide the Blue Ocean strategy. It helps them to delineate the challenges faced by an entrepreneur to select a route for the new market space.The case is ideal for undergraduate, postgraduate or executive education students and can be used in the following courses of a business management, agri business management or entrepreneurship programs:▪ creating new industries;▪ Blue Ocean strategy; and▪ strategic management. Supplementary material Teaching notes are available for educators only. Subject code CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

Barriers and challenges-agricultural marketing of the produce faced by the farmers in Tamilnadu

Agriculture fulfils the basic needs of human kind by producing food. Farmer used to produce food and commodities mostly for self-consumption or for exchange with others mostly in the same village or nearby places. At present, production environment has changed considerably from self- reliance to commercialization. Agriculture, generally means growing of crops and livestock while, marketing encompasses a series of activities from the point of production to point of consumption. There are key factors influencing agriculture in both production and marketing may be classified as physical, social and economic factors. Mostly marketing in Tamilnadu has been through various channels like middlemen, traders, retailers and by direct marketing. To overcome various limitations and to provide greater benefits to the farmer which were taken by middlemen, Direct Marketing was implemented. The Government have taken steps in restructuring to regulate Agri Business and encourage entrepreneurs. The Government also took necessary steps like practicing fair trade price to the farming community to support the left behind farmers in the competitive marketplace and supporting with latest technologies to reduce the loss incurred during various stages of harvesting. By implementing various technological ideas and through value addition agricultural business can be streamlined in this competitive market.

Integrated Pest Management Technology as a Means to Cost Efficiency for Cotton Crop in Rajasthan, India

Aim: This research is an attempt to uncover the production opportunities of cotton grown with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology in Rajasthan, India.
 Study Design: The study is based on both descriptive and exploratory type of research design.
 Place and Duration of the Study: The study was conducted at Institute of Agri Business Management, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, Rajasthan. Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of Rajasthan were selected under cotton cultivation for the study. The time duration of the project was for the crop year 2017–18.
 Methodology: The respondents for the study were cotton farmers following different pest control measures in the study area. Multistage stratified random sampling method was followed for the research. Two major districts of Irrigated North Western Plain Zone (Zone Ib) were purposely selected. Based on experts’ opinion, villages were selected under three technologies viz. IPM, conventional and mix of both technologies. The list of farmers following IPM and mix of both technologies was collected from Central Integrated Pest Management Centre (CIPMC), Sri Ganganagar and lists of farmers following conventional technology were collected from respective gram panchayats. The sample size for the study was limited to 90 in numbers. The selection of farmers was based on probability proportional to size (PPS) method on the basis of their land holdings from each village. The analysis was done by calculating returns over variable cost, benefit-cost ratio and resource use efficiency of data collected from the field.
 Results: The variable costs for the cultivation of cotton per hectare are ₹ 48001.78, ₹ 49105.66 and ₹ 48441.93 for the farmers following IPM, conventional and the mix of both technologies, respectively. The benefit to cost ratio in IPM was found to be the highest i.e. 2.23, followed by 2.04 for mix of both technology, and 1.85 for conventional technology. The estimation of resource use efficiency in cotton indicated the under-utilization of human labour in case of IPM and mix of both technologies and over-utilization of machine labour in case of conventional and IPM technology.
 Conclusion: The IPM technology was found to be economical for the farmers growing cotton in the study area. The resources like human labour, machine labour, fertilizers and manure as well as plant protection measures were suggested to be effectively utilized for better cost effectiveness among the farmers in the study area.

Biblometric Analysis on Agritech and Agribusiness Management - Present Achievement of Agri Tech in India and Future Research Agenda

In the line of Fintech and Infotech, now “Agritech” is the most pronounced jargon in our country. Being an agricultural country, India started incorporating technology into the agriculture sector. The population of the world is estimated to reach 9.7 billion in the year 2050 and the existing resources for food production might not be sufficient to meet the needs which are expected to increase exponentially in the years to come. To cater to the needs of the country, Agri tech is needed. Blockchain, IoT, Drone-based farming and other data-driven technologies are enabling agriculture to evolve into a technological industry and making the farmer’s task easy. In this research paper, the researchers comprehensively visualized the Agritech related papers in the bibliometric method from the Scopus database for the years 1987 to 2022. The outcome of the paper is to develop the technology in agriculture even better than now and build a nationwide farmer network for food security. This research study has identified a research gap which is to integrate agri business and agri tech together for creating a value chain in the sector.

Training Programmes and Success of Agri Clinics and Agri Business Centres (Acabcs) In Karnataka – An Evaluation

Training Programmes and Success of Agri Clinics and Agri Business Centres (Acabcs) In Karnataka – An Evaluation

Attitude of agricultural students towards agricultural entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs are people who realize new opportunities and channelize effort in the proper direction. Now a days the employment opportunities for agricultural professionals in the public sector are shrinking. Rising unemployment among agricultural graduates and market forces made entrepreneurship a best career for the students. To create self-employment opportunities for unemployed agricultural graduates, entrepreneurship is widely regarded as an integral player. Career aspirations and opportunities for agriculture students are usually with in private and public sector jobs. Initiation to become an entrepreneur or to start up agri business among the student community is rare. Inspite of the blooming opportunities available in agri entrepreneurship sector, students may be reluctant to start agri ventures due to some constraints or hesitations. Thus, this study was carried out primarily to understand the attitude of students towards agripreneurship and factors affecting the motivation of students to become an agripreneur among the final year students of B.Sc (Agri) in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University Coimbatore campus. This study showed that majority of the students had a favorable attitude towards agricultural entrepreneurship.

Assessment of Level of Success of Agripreneurs in Tamil Nadu

Entrepreneur’s success is measured by their ability to succeed as an entrepreneur. Everyone recognizes and categorizes successful entrepreneurs based on their achievements. The present study aimed to assess the level of success of agripreneurs from the agri business incubations of Coimbatore and Madurai. These business incubations were selected purposively because they had been established earlier compared to the other six incubators in Tamil Nadu. The samples were selected by Proportionate random sampling technique. The different dimensions of business success include financial, employment, customer, lifestyle and social responsibility dimension.The study has concluded that the majority of respondents had medium level of success in business and also found that financial dimension includes profitability, sales turnover, sales growth, market share, debt level, business growth, return on investment, industrial relations and business image determines the success of the business. The findings of the study suggest that supporting the agripreneurs through financial assistance will lead to the success of agripreneurs.

Vanilla Husbandry and Fish Farming in Meru District, Arusha

Kaanaeli Agri Business intends to increase Vanilla production by establishing A DEMO Plot at Ngyeku Village and Conducting Seminars/workshops to Farmer’s groups, mainly on Sustainable Vanilla husbandry and Fish farming practices with affordable and customized methods involving: • Proper land use demarcation at household levels • Soil fertility management • Bio-intensive agriculture practices (Organic farming) • Environmental conservation and • To address Market issues, to medium and smallholder farmers of Meru district, Arusha-Tanzania.

Agriculture with Special Emphasis on Horticulture and Agribusiness Opportunities - A Case Study on West Bengal

West Bengal, with good productivity of agri-horticultural produce belongs to sound agri business potential. However, this potentiality gets neglected due to inadequate development and improper use of food processing infrastructures in the state. Consequently, it has to suffer average annual loss of ₹842.08 crore from wastage of agri-horticulture produces. This loss could be prevented by unlocking state’s full potentiality in agribusiness and welcoming food processing industries in the state which will contribute to the GSDP also.

Individual risk propensity and agri-entrepreneurial financing effectiveness: strategy for sustainable agri-financing

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate sustainable effectiveness of agri-financing. An attempt has been made to evaluate individual through risk propensity domains and agri-financing through effectiveness domains. The study identifies prominent predictor of agri-financing effectiveness. The data have been collected through stratified random sampling from 220 beneficiaries who have availed agri-financing in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (India). Structural Equation Modelling approach was employed for instrument developments (i.e. confirmatory factor analysis) and hypothesis testing. It has been found that agri entrepreneurs are risk averse with lower risk propensity in career and finance domains. The results provide evidence that risk propensity dimensions have positive impact on agri-financing effectiveness. The study helps in evaluation, prediction and prevention of probable consequences of agri-financing. The research has significant implications in preventing the economic loss resulted through the failure of agri business schemes. Little research has been conducted on the area of agricultural credit in India which is inevitably revealed from the increasing agri farmer suicides.

Determinants of Sustainable Business with Respect to Agricultural Engineering Manufacturing Companies

Agricultural machinery and equipment manufacturing companies are the integral part of the Agri business sector in India. They play a key role in agricultural development of our country. In the emerging need of buyers’ market, business sustainability plays an important role in the area of Agricultural Engineering Manufacturing Companies. This empirical research aims to identify and address the factors influencing business sustainability of Agri Engineering Manufacturing Companies of Karnataka, India. A pilot study has been conducted to identify the most influencing factors of Agri Engineering Manufacturing Companies. Pilot study result shows that, entrepreneurial competency, business model and innovation are the key influencing factors of business sustainability. As a part of demographic profile analysis, age group of the entrepreneurs, level of education of entrepreneurs, their business tenure, annual turnover and annual profit have been analyzed to ascertain their impact on business sustainability. It is suggested to the entrepreneurs to attend technical training sessions, leadership skills and personality development training programs to enhance their entrepreneurial competencies for business sustainability. It is also required to adopt suitable business model and innovation for business sustainability. However, the additional factors influencing the business sustainability of Agri Engineering Manufacturing Companies would be addressed during further research.

Exploring Agri Business Potential in Tripura through Fruits and Vegetable Production

The agro climatic condition of Tripura offers immense potential for production of number of tropical and sub tropical fruits and vegetables. Major horticulture produce comprises fruits (48.6%) and vegetables (48.3%) (2013-14). Fruit and vegetable are important component of the food items of the state. The production of fruits and vegetables provide gainful employment for small farmers and agricultural labour throughout the year. Foreign exchange can be earned by exporting the raw and processed form of fruits and vegetables. The production of both fruits and vegetables are increasing significantly at a growth of 3.86 and 13.36 per cent over the last decades. In this study an attempt was made to estimate the marketable surplus of fruits and vegetables for exploring the agri business potentiality. The secondary data on production of fruits and vegetable in the state over the decade (2001-2014) were collected from Economic Review of Tripura. Compound growth rate and regression analysis was done to achieve the objective. The supply of fruits and vegetables was estimated considering the future production using regression method of forecasting. Similarly, demand for fruits and vegetables were estimated considering the recommended amount of fruits (100gm) and vegetable (150gm) per person per day in the state. An amount of 10 per cent was assumed as post harvest loss. The results showed that there is significant marketable surplus of both fruits and vegetables in the coming four years (upto 2021) showing the possibility of value addition to this surplus amount through establishing processing units in the state that would help to boost farmers’ income and employment. However, government initiatives along with growers and processors interest needs to be developed for exploring the vast potentiality of this sector in the state.

An Analysis on the Critical Parameters Influencing Sustainability for Agri Business Industry: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Frame Work

In India the MSME sector inhabits the second position in terms of employment generation. In this context Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) have considerably contributed to the fiscal progress of our country. The development of the MSME sector is exceptionally important, as it holds the key to ample growth and plays a crucial role in comprehensive growth of our country. The aim of this paper is to review the literature on sustainability of small business so as to identify the influencing parameters which are responsible for the long term sustainability of small business. This paper further aims to develop a Conceptual Framework for Business Sustainability in Agri Business sector. Various Scopus indexed journal articles from the year 2010 to 2017 were considered for literature review. Based on the literature survey and gap identified, the framework includes the three independent parameters such as Entrepreneurial Competency (EC), Business Model (BM), Innovation and Technology (IT). Hence from the summary of literature survey it was identified that, the collective contribution of EC, BM and IT leads to Business Sustainability (BS) of Small Agri Engineering Manufacturing Companies. Hence the measurability for the sustainability of the Agribusiness is developed through conceptual framework via three parameters namely EC, BM, IT. The outcome of the above study is expected to identify the, challenges faced by the small and medium size industries in the Agri Engineering sector for future sustainability.

Approach towards Capacity-building of FPOs on Fast Track Mode: In Punjab

The focus of the paper is on exploring avenues for increasing value accruals to farmers. Basically, in the context of producers, the needfor evolution of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) to reduce the exploitation by middle-men traders is apparent. The interventions being undertaken under the aegis of FPOs in different value chains and locations intervene on both forward and backward segments of the chain. Basically, the objectives of the producer companies are to: undertake various activities such as bulk purchase of inputs and delivery to farmer members; marketing of produce, grading and quality control and first level processing; procurement and maintenance of farm equipment for hiring out among farmers. The case illustrations considered in this paper present the setting in well performing FPOs offering a wide mix ofservices and earning high annual revenues as well as upcoming producer networks just graduating into providing a range of services. The benefits being accrued to member farmers range from considerable cost saving in sourcing inputs like seeds and fertilisers as well as larger net value accruals through marketing directly to end-consumers or national or global retailers. In essence, the paper validates the intervention approach of focus on FPOs as a means to provide various scale economies to small and marginal farmer stake-holders. It also reflects the option offinancing the capacity building and establishment of common facilities by such networks that agglomerate produce by means of matching grants in PPP mode. Further, it validates the need for a business development service providing platform, namely an Agri Business Promotion Facility, to provide a range of services including: the evolution of producer networks; facilitating management and technical training of such networks; providing guidance on the preparation of bankable business plans; linking networks with technology and equipment and credit related service providers; channelling links with apt markets and marketers; andproviding a range of other capacity building and networking services to consortia of farmers or FPOs to enable them to move up the value chain, eliminate rent seeking middle-men even while adding value to produce. Such interventions alone will enable the relatively deprived sections ofthe Punjab economy to integrate with the mainstream.