eChapters

Abstract

This paper studies the role and status of Indian Agricultural Market Intelligence System (IAMIS) in improving the economic returns of agri-sector in India. Marketing intelligence makes agricultural marketers, including agri-entrepreneurs, aware and updated and reduces risk in decision making. India produced 275.112 million tonnes of food grains in 2016-17 and the projected requirement is 311million tonnes in 2030. Income of farmers has increased at a CAGR of 10.61% and number of farmers has declined at a CAGR of -0.25% from 1993-94 to 2014-15. Acreage remains stagnant. Given this background, to exploit full potential of agricultural production, market intelligence has a great role. The DES and Department of Food with their 435 market information systems (MIS) units transmit daily information through public media. The essential prerequisite of ensuring farmers’income is that they need credible information about “likely price situation”. Agriculture Marketing Intelligence System (AMIS, 2011) has emerged with the aim to provide services in agriculture and allied sectors. ICAR (1991) took initiatives under World Bank to assist National Agricultural Innovation Project (NAIP) and Export Market Intelligence Cell (EMIC) was set up in Tamil Nadu with ten State Agricultural Universities. This paper uses globally available price forecasting models (ARIMA, GARCH, etc.)on 20 crops to provide an idea of the existing status and policies in agricultural market intelligence.

Abstract

Entrepreneurs take responsibility of their ‘business’ tad differently than their counterpart, the traditional businessman. A businessman walks on the pre-defined route whereas the entrepreneur creates his own alley-way, which if successful, becomes the rulebook for that trade. Lately, ecological issues have taken centre-stage as climatic changes have endangered the sustainable growth of the business. A new breed of entrepreneurs, alias ecopreneurs, functions in this ‘new’ space and endeavour to frame an innovative business landscape. Ecopreneurs possess singular focus on the safe-keep of the ecology. But in order to sustain the efforts of businesses in ecology, it is imperative that they remain economically viable too. Thus, ecopreneurial process is not only about fulfilling the business’ responsibility towards ecology, but also about the marketability of the product or service. In order to evaluate the ecopreneurial process, organic farming is considered as a case. In this paper, selected organic farms are analysed in an environment - market continuum, developed particularly for this study which is in tandem with the works of Schaltegger (2002) and Blake and Mouton (1964).The study reveals inadequacy of market performance of the individual and farm level ecopreneurs in the state of West Bengal, in spite of their strong inclination towards care for the environment.

Abstract

Agricultural development in India provides support to a large section of farmers who operate on small holdings and have very limited risk bearing capacity. Farmers are often exposed to natural vagaries, which adversely affect their agricultural production and farm income. Moreover, there is huge financial exclusion in rural sector of the nation. If there is a crop failure, farmers are crushed under the burden of debt. Farmers seek to avoid risk in terms of various managerial and institutional mechanisms. But it is widely believed that ‘Crop Insurance’ is the only institutional mechanism available against production risk in farming. Unfortunately, penetration of crop insurance schemes in India has been low in terms of the area of land insured and the number of farmers covered. There are the problems of low risk awareness and lack of insurance culture among the farmers. In this backdrop, the paper documents the findings of a survey of 140 farmers, which was taken up in some selected villages of North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal. The study shows that likelihood of this awareness increases with increase in landholding size, education level, borrowing history and social participation of the farmers, whereas it decreases with the non-farm income and livestock of the farmers. The author proposes measures to promote and spread awareness of crop insurance among the farmers as a risk mitigation tool in farming, which will increase farm production and stabilize the fluctuation in farm income. The study provides valuable policy measures to the government in better designing of their crop insurance products and will also help the private agro-insurance business, which is recently taking off in the country.

Abstract

India is the second largest food producing country in the world. Food processing is one of the key industries in the country and a sector that has direct linkage between agriculture and industry. Being the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables along with its strategic geographic location and proximity to food importing nations, India is in an advantageous position in terms of exporting processed food. As per estimates, Indian food processing sector stood at USD258 billion in the financial year 2015. The growth and development of this industry have direct impact on the Indian economy. The aim of the present study is to discuss about the growth of the food processing industry, analyse its strengths and weaknesses and generate possibilities of entrepreneurial development towards the expansion of the sector. This study has been a secondary data analysis based on data collected from journals, magazines, web searches and reports from various government and private agencies.

The study has identified the main drivers aiding to the growth of the sector. It includes strong domestic demand, rising export opportunities; supply side advantages for exporters due to rising global demand and strong policy support from the Government. On the other hand, fragmented market, infrastructure support, namely cold chain, innovation and skill development are the major hurdles that have to be overcome. This article makes an attempt to explore entrepreneurial opportunities and few areas where new business could be initiated. The entrepreneurial opportunities highlighted in this paper are based on Drucker’s opportunity construct that entrepreneurs have an eye more for possibilities created by change than the problems.

Abstract

Out of 1.37 billion populationof India 67 % lives in rural areas whose major source of income is agriculture and allied activities (World Population Review, 2019). In simple words, the livelihood of this vast majority is closely related to rural enterprises. Fostering rural entrepreneurship may be affected by several issues, infrastructure being one of them. This paper attempts to examine the relationship between infrastructure investment by the state and rural entrepreneurship in India, with ‘Gross Fixed Capital Formation’ and ‘Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, Value Added’ considered as proxy variables. Time series econometrics is compiled with the data collected from World Bank Database for the period of 1961-2017. The study has established evidence in support of greater investment in infrastructure enhancing rural entrepreneurial opportunities in India.

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of India’s economic development and has experienced immense growth in the past few decades. Agriculture not only involves the participation of male workers but also experiences active participation of all family members, as well. Women, as part of the family, take up agricultural activities as an extension to their household chores. The Government and voluntary agencies have also recognised the need for women in the farming community to become self-reliant and active participants in the agricultural sector. Increasing awareness and educating themselves with the passage of time, farmers have made themselves aware of new techniques of farming and growing and established themselves as agricultural entrepreneurs in the long run. Many initiatives supporting women entrepreneurs and creating a supportive ecosystem for women to become agricultural entrepreneurs have been initiated by the state. The case of Anita Devi popularly known as the Mushroom Lady of Bihar has been taken up in this paper to substantiate with evidence how government initiatives have helped her gain success and grow as an agricultural entrepreneur. This study aims at disseminating how such initiatives help in creating an ecosystem that motivates agricultural entrepreneurs in general and women in particular.

Abstract

This paper is rooted in the issue of the failure of Green Revolution which was intended to achieve self-sufficiency in the agriculturally dominant country of India, following its independence. However five decades later, the current focus of the country is on engaging in a sustainable and economically feasible agricultural practice using principles of agro ecology. This paper tries to explore the potential of application of organic farming in a vast country like India. The author posits that organic farming can help India reverse the damage caused by Green Revolution by allowing for natural methods of agriculture rather than a severely mechanical form. This paper focuses on the modern concept of organic farming combining tradition, science and innovation, and the debatable issues surrounding organic farming particularly dealing with its economic feasibility and sustainability prospects. It is acknowledged that for the successful implementation of organic farming there has to be appropriate matching of the supply and demands the organic products. However, there is a need to address the challenge of adoption of organic farming in a diverse country like India because of its huge variance in education, income, living standards and health of the existing and potential consumers. The prospect of organic farming is discussed from the perspective of consumer awareness and state initiatives, in this paper.

Abstract

The agriculture and allied sector provide livelihood for 58% of India’s population. A large population and rising disposable incomes are key growth drivers. Growing external demand has increased its contribution to exports. The demand for processed food has also led to increasing requirements for agricultural inputs, hybrid seeds, machinery and fertilizers. Investment opportunities in storage infrastructure and agrochemicals also present immense opportunities. Organised retail has made India attractive for multinationals. The industry has a combination of multiple organisational forms, like associations, co-operatives, government (departmental) undertakings, foreign entities, trusts and companies, private and public. Unlisted companies encompass a vast range (private limited companies, family business, group-owned firms, and joint ventures are major actors.) The form and complexity of business ownership highlights Corporate Governance (CG) debate. Given this background, our objective is to understand the CG characteristics of unlisted agricultural and allied companies operating in India, the driving forces for improving CG practices, and the need for a policy framework in supporting good CG. We propose to examine the extent of control in the various types of entities and explore the mechanisms that contribute to the development of an efficient CG framework. Using data from the Prowess database, on 2,879 firms, from 2012-2013 to 2016-17, we analysed how CG problems are caused and how it can be alleviated. The results provide stakeholders and agri entrepreneurs with an overview of the policy and managerial issues that arise in the debate on CG of companies in this key sector. Finally, we conclude how the unlisted companies are likely to stimulate growth and development if CG mechanisms are enhanced.

Abstract

Trade Related Agreements on Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) widely affects the agricultural sector which is largely unorganised in India. At the same time this sector remains the bread winner for majority of the population of the country. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) affect the extensive and intensive margins in agricultural trade. This paper draws attention of enterprises in the field of agricultural biotechnology which has genetic modification (GM) as one of its core activity. GM is of benefit in terms of value additive features but also of great concern for the community in conservation of biodiversity. Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO), being aware of the pitfalls of implementing IPRs in agriculture, constituted an expert panel to study the issues pertaining to the sector. They came up with very clear directives to the FAO on the course of action. This paper aims to focus on this area to identify the micro-level dynamics of IPRs in agriculture and its effects on the rural enterprises in India. The impact of IPRs and its ramifications, the issues of agricultural productivity and its future trajectory, are to be understood from the perspective of an entrepreneur’s policy decisions. This will lead to identification of policies that would help in harnessing IPRs for the growth of Indian agriculture.

Abstract

Among the 29 Indian states, 14 are linked with 585 regulated mandis with electronic national agricultural market. Across the states, 7.35 million farmers with 53,163 commission agents are registered in these regulated mandis. Every year Government of India announces modified agricultural policies to safeguard the interest of the farming community. Amongst the policies, one of the mechanisms to protect the producers from price fluctuations is Minimum Support Price (MSP). While determining MSP, government takes into account cost of production, cost of living, as well as economic and socio-political factors. For the past two decades, it has been observed that one MSP graph is moving upward but still the farming community seems dissatisfied. The reasons behind MSP variation among states include offering bonus prices additionally with MSP by some states, due to variation in government procurement procedures and policies. As a result, MSP is playing an important role in manoeuvring of prices amongst the various state markets. MSP deviation provides chances for the private sector to take undue advantage and the farmers are adversely affected. The study analyses existence of deviation in mandi prices of staple food between two states from year 2007 to 2018. It will disclose whether centralized price system reduce the cost of government and aid the farmer to get fair valuation.