Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra Summary | October 2022
AatmaNirbharta through Agripreneurship

• Agriculture remains one of the key sectors of the Indian economy, contributing
around 18-20% share in the Gross Domestic Product. About 70% of the rural
population depends on agriculture and allied sectors for their livelihood.
• One of the options which mitigates the burden on agriculture is agripreneurship, i.e.,
entrepreneurship in agriculture and its allied sectors, which has grown in recent
past.
• By promoting agripreneurship, it can be ensured that losses involving perishable
commodities are minimised, consumer benefits are enhanced and price discovery is
attained effectively.
• It spans across various sub-sectors viz. food processing, fisheries, tissue culture,
apiary, smart agri-tech provisioning, soil testing, vermi-compost, etc.
Policies and programmes

• The ministry of Agriculture and farmers welfare revised the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas
Yojana in 2017 as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana – Remunerative Approaches for
Agriculture and Allied sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR).
• The scheme provides financial support and nurtures the incubation ecosystem by
strengthening farmers’ efforts, risk mitigation, and creation of pre and post-harvest
infrastructure, promoting agripreneurship and innovations.
• It includes agripreneurship, with a stipend for the entrepreneur, seed stage funding
and funding for incubates.
• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries’ PM Formalisation of Micro Food
Processing Enterprises Scheme, with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore, provides financial
technical and business support for upgradation of existing micro food processing
enterprises.
• As a part of the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Package, an agriculture infrastructure fund was
launched in 2020 for providing medium to long term credit facility for investment in
creation of post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets.
• Gramodyog Vikas Yojana of the Ministry of MSME has a special focus on the Agro
based and Food Processing industry.
• Ministry of MSME’s Enterprise and Skill Development Programme is another
important scheme aimed towards inculcating entrepreneurial habits.
• Ministry of MSME’s collateral Guarantee Scheme is a scheme involving collateral free
loans for Micro and Small Entrepreneurs.
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Way Forward
• It is observed that READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana),
which has been incorporated in undergraduate education of agriculture can be
successful in generating awareness and interest amongst the youth.
• The agripreneurship policies need to incorporate region-specific potential and
demands.
• Providing area-specific technical training programmes may help to develop the
technical competence of potential entrepreneurs.
Skills for Agri-Entrepreneurship

• The development of an entrepreneur is the process of imbuing a person with
entrepreneurial abilities, such as a desirable knowledge, advanced technical
financial, marketing and managerial expertise.
Concept of Entrepreneurship
• The term ‘entrepreneur’ is derived from a French verb ‘Entreprendre’ which means
‘to undertake.’
• The French economist Richard Cantillon had used the term entrepreneurship for the
first time in 1730s by picturing it as ‘self-employment’ of any nature.
• Entrepreneurship is the process of identifying opportunities in market place,
arranging the resources required for pursuing these opportunities and investing the
resources to exploit the opportunities for a long-term gain.
Agri-Entrepreneurship
• The imperative to transform agriculture into a more alluring and lucrative business
venture is agri-entrepreneurship.
• Agricultural entrepreneurs undertake business related to agricultural activities like –
farming, product marketing, inputs marketing and processing of agricultural
produce.
• It has the ability to contribute to both social and economic development, including
job creation, poverty reduction, improved nutrition, increased food security and
improving rural economy.
Opportunities in Agri-Entrepreneurship
• Potential agri-entrepreneurship opportunities are as follows –
o Agro-Produce Processing units, where no new products are manufactured
but the agricultural produce is processed. Example – mills for grinding grains.
o Agro-Produce Manufacturing Facilities, where new goods are created using
agricultural products. Example – bakeries, sugar factories, etc.
o Agro-input Manufacturing facilities, where items are produced either for
mechanising agriculture or expanding manufacturing facilities. Example –
fertiliser production units.
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o Agro-Service Centres, which include stores and repair facilities for farm
equipment, implement and machinery.
o Miscellaneous Areas – establishment of apiaries, seed processing units, goat
rearing, organic vegetable, etc.
Core competencies and Skills

• Planning, implementation and control are the three key facets of farm management
that need knowledge and proficiency from farmer-entrepreneurs.
• Essential entrepreneurial attributes for an agri-entrepreneur are initiative, ambition,
concentrated problem solving, creative thinking, taking chances, interpersonal skills,
etc.
• To be successful as an agri-entrepreneur, a farmer must be able to blend their
managerial, technical and entrepreneurial skills in practice.
• Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS) has listed different skills required
by agri-entrepreneur –
o Aligning business objectives with the value proposition.
o Identifying value proposition that meets customers’ requirements.
o Diagnosing problems and finding their pertinent causes.
o Estimating the work and time necessary to execute jobs.
o Implementing, monitoring and evaluating activities.
• Essential production operation skills that the agri-entrepreneur requires are –

o Selecting, designing, running, managing and updating the agricultural
production system.
o Making choices about timing of production processes.
o Arranging resources and raw materials required for agricultural production
process.
o Designing workflow from arranging inputs to packaging of produce and sale
of agricultural produce.
o Production process monitoring and appraisal.
Skill Development Initiatives

• NABARD has been partner of government in implementing schemes for agri-
entrepreneurship like New Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure, Agri Clinics and Agri
Business Centres Scheme (ACABC), National Livestock Mission – Entrepreneurship
Development and Employment Generation (NLM-EDEG).
• Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has launched a new scheme named
innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development.
• Initiative for Development of Entrepreneurs in Agriculture (IDEA) has been launched
by Ministry od Development of North-Eastern Region.
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Agripreneurship and farm prosperity
• It is the beginning of a new era in agriculture with the meteoric rise of Agricultural
Entrepreneurship promising to pump adrenalin into farming and usher prosperity.
• It helps induce productivity gains of smallholder farmers while integrating them into
local, national and international markets.
Scope of Agripreneurship
• The country offers an enviable array of choices for entrepreneurs such as – dairying,
sericulture, goat and rabbit rearing, vegetable cultivation, nursery farming, etc.
• Other opportunities include setting up of Agro Produce Processing Units, Agro
Produce Manufacturing units, Agro-services centres and Agri-Enterprises.
• For small entrepreneurs at village level, opportunities exist in areas like
biopesticides, soil amendments, biofertilizers, vermicompost, etc.
Rise of Agri-Startups
• Some of the top agri-startups helping Indian farmers –
o Ninjacart – solves the fresh agricultural produce supply chain problem.
o WayCool – uses technology to control end-to-end agriculture supply chain.
o AgroStar – helps farmers by providing expert advice on how to manage their
crops and boost yield.
o Stellapps – helps dairy farmers and cooperatives to maximise their profits.
o Aibono – uses soil sensors, IoT devices and imaging drones to collect farm
data and transfers it onto their cloud platform.
Women in Agripreneurship
• Agriculture, which provides employment to nearly 50% of total population has a

whopping 70% as women farmers.
• One of the ways to motivate them is by organising Self Help Groups (SHGs),
providing them land ownership and attracting them towards MSMEs.
• Women farmers need to be made aware, motivated and trained about the diverse
agripreneurial opportunities to adopt them as their alternate livelihood options.
Role of Agripreneurs and Prosperity of the Farmers

• Agripreneurship helps in –
o Inducing productivity gains of smallholder farmers and integrating them into
local, national and international markets.
o In reducing food costs, supply uncertainties and improving the diets of rural
and urban poor.
o In generating growth, increasing and diversifying income, and providing
entrepreneurial opportunities in rural and urban areas.
• India needs agripreneurship to generate innovative solutions to some of the critical
agricultural issues such as precision farming techniques to increase productivity.
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• The input costs be minimised by incorporating data driven decision making and
streamlining efficiency in the farm supply chain.
• The colossal crop wastages must be reduced through new entrepreneurial ventures
that can improve the supply chain infrastructure.
• Indian agripreneurs could adopt some of the successful tech ventures in agriculture
like integrated Remote Sensing, GIS, Internet of Things, etc. Such measures will help
in monitoring crop health, automating irrigation systems, etc.
Organic Farming
• Organic farming or natural farming denotes farming without using chemical
fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides.
• Indiscriminate and excessive use of chemicals and fertilisers coupled with
insecticides and pesticides has put a question mark on the sustainable agriculture.
• The standing Committee of the parliament defined organic farming in these words –
“Organic farming is based upon sound agronomic practices, crop rotation, use of
farm land manure for bio fertilisers and bio-pesticides for enhancing soil productivity
and use of natural methods to control pests and weeds.”
• In 2005, organic farming policy was introduced by the government of India, which
intends to promote technically sound, economically viable, environmentally non-
degrading and socially acceptable use of natural resources for organic farming.
• The objectives of organic farming policy 2005 are as follows –

o Maintenance of soil fertility
o Identification of areas and crops suitable for organic farming.
o Adoption of biological methods for pest and disease control, and weed
management.
o Creation of awareness among farmers towards organic agriculture.
o Improvement in farmers’ income through quality produce.
o Generation of rural employment opportunities.
o Development of regulatory mechanism for various organic inputs and
produce.
Evidence based research on the practices of Organic Farming and Outcomes

• The ICAR conducted studies on the impact of organic approach, integrated approach
and inorganic approach on yield, soil and quality of food, during 2004-05 to 2019.
• The finding are as follows –
o Net returns are highest in organic approach, at 64% centres.
o The five year mean net returns with organic approach are higher than inorganic
approach.
o Organic farming increase soil health and fertility.
o Organic farming improves sustainability index and increases carbon
sequestration and overall resilience.
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o Higher yield is produced with organic farming.
o Cost of input is relatively low in organic farming, and these are locally and
naturally available.
Programmes and Policies for Organic Farming

1. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) –
• Provides financial assistance to farmers for organic conversion, organic
inputs, on farm inputs, production infrastructure, etc.
• Was implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme initially for three years
(2015-17), but subsequently revised for the next three years.
2. Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Padhhati (BPKP) –

• Designed to enhance farmers’ profitability, access to quality food and
restoration of soil fertility and farm land ecosystem.
• Aims at promoting traditional indigenous practices, which give freedom to
farmers from externally purchased inputs.
• It is a sub-mission under PKVY, launched in 2019-20 for six years up to 2024-
25.
• Financial assistance of Rs, 12,200 per hectare for three years is provided for
cluster formation, capacity building and continuous handholding by trained
personnel.
3. Mission Organic value chain development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) –
• It is a central sector scheme under which 169 farmer producer companies
have been formed and registered in North Eastern regions.
4. Integrated Nutrition Management (INM) and Organic Farming -

• It is a form of financial assistance provided for mechanisation, promotion of
bio-fertiliser testing laboratories, support of research and establishing
teaching institute.
5. DAY-NRLM and Organic farming -

• Organic farming is being implemented with the women farmers of the Self-
Help Groups (SHGs) under DAY-NRLM.
• Till December 2021, about 2,41,961 SHG of women have been organised into
23,692 local groups.
Way Forward
• The country will require about 300MT of food grains by 2025 to feed its teeming
millions.
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• This will necessitate the use of about 45MT of nutrients. While 6-8 MT could be
supplied through existing organic sources, the rest has to come from chemical
fertilisers.
• Thus, completely banking upon organic or natural farming is not an appropriate
solution.

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Kurukshetra Summary | October 2022

AatmaNirbharta through Agripreneurship

Policies and programmes

Skills for Agri-Entrepreneurship

Core competencies and Skills

• Essential production operation skills that the agri-entrepreneur requires are –

Skill Development Initiatives

• Agriculture, which provides employment to nearly 50% of total population has a

Role of Agripreneurs and Prosperity of the Farmers

• The objectives of organic farming policy 2005 are as follows –

Evidence based research on the practices of Organic Farming and Outcomes

Programmes and Policies for Organic Farming

2. Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Padhhati (BPKP) –

4. Integrated Nutrition Management (INM) and Organic Farming -

5. DAY-NRLM and Organic farming -

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