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Authored By: Poonam Mishra, Ph.D. Scholar in GITAM (Deemed to be) University, GITAM School of Law, Vishakhapatnam,
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ABSTRACT:
However, little is known about entrepreneurship in agriculture, whereas entrepreneurship experts have concentrated their research on a variety of entrepreneurial scenarios. “To understand what entrepreneurship means in agriculture and why this issue is expanding, we analyze publications linked to this topic using a variety of databases. The quantitative findings in this work can be helpful to researchers, consultants, and decision-makers. Also, it offers a qualitative analysis of the subject, outlining a framework for the notion of change and demonstrating how women’s agri-entrepreneurship functions as a new paradigm based on the use of intentional tactics to address liberalization and sustainability. The discussion of these findings takes into account both sustainable issues and criticism of liberalization. We demonstrate that the discussions of liberalization do not call into doubt the legitimacy of the issue of women in agribusiness topics but rather question the way farmers undertake it and how women’s entrepreneurship can reinforce the resilience of farms”.
India’s agricultural sector has long been a vital part of the nation’s economy, providing sustenance and livelihoods for millions. However, gender disparities have persistently plagued the sector, with women facing numerous challenges when it comes to Agripreneurship. This article aims to shed light on the gender barriers that hinder women in India from fully participating in Agripreneurship and explores potential solutions to promote gender equality in the field. Through an in-depth analysis of the socio-cultural, economic, and institutional factors, we uncover the systemic challenges and highlight the transformative potential of empowering women in agriculture. By addressing these barriers and empowering women as Agripreneurship, India can unlock a significant source of economic growth, enhance food security, and foster sustainable development.
Keywords: Entrepreneurship, Agriculture, Agripreneurship, Etc.
I. INTRODUCTION:
The importance of women in agricultural development and their critical contribution to agriculture, food security, horticulture, processing, nutrition, sericulture, fisheries, and other related industries have become gradually more apparent over time. After China and the United States, India is the world’s third-largest producer of food grains, and it is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables after China. However, due to inadequate post-harvest facilities and 30 to 40 percent to 60 percent food grain, fruit, and vegetable wastage, India is now ranked second to China. “Women play a crucial role in agriculture production” since it entails more than just growing food grains; it also involves processing, preserving, and packing those grains. Hence, more focus must be placed on the growth of women’s entrepreneurship in the feminization of agriculture, food processing, preservation, and product packaging. It is important to provide skill development training for launching various businesses. Rural women should be targeted because they may be easily found and produced nearby as a raw resource. Promotional and reward initiatives benefit female entrepreneurs and should be strengthened.
Therefore, more focus needs to be given to the growth of female entrepreneurship in food processing, preserving, and product packaging. Food processing has the potential to add value to basic agricultural products and dairy, which will eventually improve the small-scale women producers’ and entrepreneurs’ ability to earn an income. This will allow for better use and control of local resources and contribute to the creation of jobs for rural women. It would further aid in the sociopsychological and economic empowerment of rural women. This essay will examine potential business opportunities for rural women in the food sector, obstacles they encountered, and solutions for the rapid expansion of female entrepreneurs. Half of the world’s population is made up of women, who have immense potential and due to their position as the hub around which the family, society, and the human race revolve, their importance to the economy has become clear. But it’s truly bad that women’s actual and prospective roles in society have been ignored and unaltered for millennia. In India, which is recognised for having patriarchal social structures, women are reliant on their male family members, whether they be a husband, a father, or a sibling. “Whenever the topic for discussion comes up regarding the status of women in India, immediately it fabricates a picture of inequality, discrimination, illiteracy, weaker sex, dependency and exploitation. According to Hindustan Times, the enrolment of female in government schools is higher than male in Delhi while, it is vice versa in case of private schools”.
“The enrolment of male is higher in private schools than female because “better education translates to education in private schools. The indifference to the education of girls in India is a reflection of the broader attitude that girls will grow up to be homemakers and boys will have to earn a living. This attitude deprives not just women from having successful careers but also the country from having talented professionals in every field. Talent (people), business, socio-political environment and the government will play key roles in entrepreneurship development of any nation. In a report conducted by World Bank’s India Development, had shown serious news for the country’s policymakers. The report said that India has one of the world’s lowest female participation in the workforce, ranking 120th among 131 countries for which data was available. But despite talking about all these issues, it is important to emphasise that the status of women can only be improved through economic independence, therefore the development of women entrepreneurship is a need of the hour to increase the participation of women in income generating activities. Women don’t work to support their families but also to create their identity in the male dominated society and be independent.” Agripreneurship will therefore contribute to the sociopsychological and economic empowerment of rural women. This paper was written with the following goals in mind while keeping that perspective in mind.
II. WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS & GENDER BARRIERS TO AGRIPRENEURSHIP:
“Entrepreneurship can be characterised as an inventive and creative reaction to the environment. Any area of social endeavour, including business, industry, agriculture, education, social work, and the like, may experience such a response. Therefore, a straightforward definition of entrepreneurship is the doing of new things or the doing of things previously known in a new way. One of the main obstacles to female Agripreneurship in India is discrimination on the basis of gender. In the agricultural industry, women are sometimes seen as less capable than men and are not afforded the same possibilities. Their contributions to the area are underappreciated, and they are frequently left out of decision-making processes. A woman entrepreneur is a person who launches a business and manages it on her own with tact, takes all the risks, and bravely confronts problems with an unwavering determination to succeed. Because they lack collateral to provide financial institutions, this makes it difficult for women to get loans or make investments in their farms. Furthermore, a lot of women don’t have access to current farming tools and technology, which can harm their profitability and production. Women entrepreneurs are individuals who come up with a business idea, launch it, arrange and integrate the production aspects, run the business, take chances, and deal with the economic uncertainty that comes with doing business. Women entrepreneurs are classified by the Government of India as “Enterprises owned and controlled by women who hold a minimum financial stake of 51% in the jobs created by their business. Women can only acquire entrepreneurial knowledge and skills through training and education. An intense drive, a willingness to take on a significant amount of risk, a love of working on challenging tasks, creativity and innovation, the ability to get things done, and a focus on creating values are just a few of the traits that have emerged from content analysis of studies on entrepreneurial behaviour. The gender gap in agriculture entrepreneurship in India is also a result of the lack of enough educational and financial opportunity. Many rural women lack access to education, which makes it challenging for them to get the expertise required to operate a successful agriculture. In addition, because they frequently have limited financial resources, women may find it difficult to invest in their farms. Initiatives and programs to Empower Women in Agripreneurship. Despite the numerous challenges that women face when it comes to Agripreneurship in India, there are several initiatives and programs aimed at empowering women and promoting gender equality in agriculture sector. One such initiative is the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), which is a subcomponent of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). MKSP aims to empower women in agriculture by providing them with training, information, and resources. The NRLM is a flagship program of the Ministry of Rural Development, aimed at reducing poverty and empowering rural women. The program provides training and support to women in agriculture, as well as access to credit and other financial service. The Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) is another program aimed at empowering women in India. RMK is a microcredit program that provides loans to women’s self-help groups (SHGs) for income-generating activities, including agriculture. The program also provides training and support to women entrepreneurs, helping them develop the skills and knowledge needed to run successful business.
III. WOMEN’S POTENTIAL AND CONTRIBUTIONS IN AGRIPRENEURSHIP:
It’s crucial to comprehend the aspects that lead to the establishment of female entrepreneurs. As will be explained below, there are primarily three variables that lead to the emergence of female entrepreneurs:
Chance entrepreneurs are those that launch a company without any specific strategies or objectives.
- Forced entrepreneurs are those who were forced to establish a firm by circumstances (e.g., the death of a spouse, the family experiencing financial troubles), their major goal, therefore, tends to be financial.
- Those who are “located, motivated, encouraged, and developed through, for example, entrepreneurship development programmes” are considered created entrepreneurs. The emphasis is on the entrepreneurial activity developed by Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVK) and other government or non-government organisations as the created enterprises are permanent one.
Women are incredibly talented and contribute significantly to agribusiness, which is crucial to India’s agricultural sector. The following significant factors emphasise women’s potential and contributions to entrepreneurship.
Economic Empowerment: Women’s active participation in Agripreneurship leads to economic empowerment at both individual and community levels. By engaging in agri-based businesses, women generate income, contribute to household finances, and improve their standard of living. Economic empowerment enables women to have greater control over financial decisions, invest in education and healthcare, and break free from the cycle of poverty.
Preservation of Traditional Knowledge: Women possess invaluable knowledge of traditional farming practices and seed preservation techniques. They safeguard indigenous crop varieties and traditional farming methods, which are essential for maintaining agro-biodiversity and adapting to changing environmental conditions. By preserving and passing on this knowledge to future generations, women contribute to sustainable agriculture and the conservation of cultural heritage.
Environmental Stewardship: Women Agripreneurship often prioritize sustainable farming practices, promoting ecological balance and environmental stewardship. They adopt organic farming methods, employ natural pest control measures, and minimize the use of harmful chemicals. Through their sustainable practices, women contribute to soil conservation, water resource management, and biodiversity conservation, promoting a greener and more sustainable agricultural sector.
Rural Development and Employment Generation: Agripreneurship by women fosters rural development and stimulates local economies. Women-led enterprises generate employment opportunities, particularly for other women and rural youth. By establishing small-scale processing units, rural agribusinesses, or eco-tourism initiatives, women contribute to soil conservation, water resources management and biodiversity conservation.
Rural Development and Employment Generation: Agripreneurship by women fosters rural development and stimulates local economies. Women-led enterprises generate employment opportunities, particularly for other women and rural youth. By establishing small-scale processing units, rural agribusinesses, or eco-tourism initiatives, women Agripreneurship create income-generating activities, revitalize local markets and reduce rural-urban migration.
Innovation and Adaptability: Women Agripreneurship exhibit remarkable innovation and adaptability. They embrace new technologies, such as farm mechanization, precision agriculture, and digital platforms for market access. Women leverage their creativity and problem-solving skills to develop innovative products, practices, and business models. Their ability to adapt to changing market demands and overcome challenges contributes to the overall resilience and competitiveness of the agricultural sector.
Women’s Leadership and Social Empowerment: Agripreneurship provides women with opportunities for leadership and decision-making roles. Women Agripreneurship often become community leaders, role models, and agents of social change. Their participation in decision-making processes, both within their businesses and community organizations, challenges gender norms, empowers women, and promotes gender equality in traditionally male dominated sectors.
IV. STATUS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA:
“The emergence of entrepreneurs in a society depends to a great extent on the economic, social, religious, cultural and psychological factors prevailing in the society. In the advanced countries of the world, there is a huge phenomenal increase in the number of self-employed women. Women are no longer confined to the hearth and home. The entrepreneurial capacity of women has made a mark in many areas, and women have entered the industrial segment, too. It is time to foster and harness the entrepreneurship of women in a big way. According to the facts revealed by the Sixth Economic Census by the National Sample Survey Organisation, only 14 % of business establishments in the country are being run by female entrepreneurs. This means, out of the 58.5 million functional businesses, only 8.05 million of them have a female as a boss. The data collected by the survey also revealed that most of these women run companies small-scale and about 79 % of them are self-financed. So, it can be concluded from these figures that the status of women entrepreneurship in India is very low”. Different government, non-government, and other welfare organisations, such as the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), State Agricultural Universities (SAU), Krishi Vigyan Kendras, Home Science institutions, and social welfare societies, have run a variety of vocational training courses in an effort to uplift women. These vocational training programmes assist rural women in becoming economically independent by enabling them to support themselves through self-employment. However, there is still a critical need to recognise and address issues that women have while starting a business, particularly in the small-scale sector. AGRIPRENEURSHIP It is described as generally directly marketed, sustainable agriculture. A comprehensive, system-oriented approach to farming that emphasises the interactions between the social, economic, and environmental processes is known as sustainable agriculture. “Simply stated, Agripreneurship means entrepreneurship in the broad field of agriculture. There are many areas and sub-areas in agriculture. Within each area, enormous number of commodities is available. Based on the needs, agro-climatic conditions and available resources, Agripreneurship can adopt some commodities and flourish on it. There is so much scope to improve production and productivity through value addition in agriculture. It is, therefore, essential to train the jobless with special emphasis on women residing in rural areas, in agri-business management. It is also important to provide finance and required equipment’s to the rural women to start their own enterprise in agriculture”.
V. ROLE OF WOMEN IN AGRIPRENEURSHIP:
“Agriculture is the lifeblood of the economy in most developing countries, and food processing accelerates agricultural production and promotes sustainable agricultural intensification. Therefore, more attention needs to be paid for the development of rural women entrepreneurship in food processing, preserving and packaging of the products.” “The food is often grown in huge quantity that cannot be consumed at a time and needs to be processed to store it for a prolonged period. Attention should be given to value addition and export of the processed food in order to enhance its shelf life, to make food available whole year and for the availability of more variety. Satpathy B reported that women’s activities in manufacturing and food processing remain underestimated because most of their activities are undertaken as secondary activities generally hidden behind subsistence agriculture. Through food processing and preservation, the income of the women entrepreneurs can be improved which will gradually improve the earning potential capacity of women”.
V.I Limited Access to Finance:
Access to finance is a significant challenge for rural women in starting and growing their businesses. Women tend to have lower credit scores and collateral, making it difficult to access loans from financial institutions. Moreover, financial institutions may have biases against women entrepreneurs, limiting their access to capital.
V.II Lack of Access to Land and Property:
In many countries, women do not have access to land and property, limiting their ability to engage in profitable agriculture activities. Additionally, cultural norms and traditions often favour men, resulting in unequal distribution of land and property rights. This limits women’s ability to engage in profitable agriculture and agribusiness ventures.
VI. CONCLUSION:
There is an urgent need to identify more women who are motivated, skilled, and possess the potential and need to launch, run, manage, and incur the risk of launching and sustaining a competitive atmosphere in the context of the globalisation of the economy. Agripreneurship has the potential to empower rural women and reduce poverty levels in developing countries. However, various barriers limit women’s ability to engage in profitable agriculture and agribusiness ventures. Governments, development partners, and stakeholders must create policies, programs, and initiatives that support women entrepreneurship in agriculture and agribusiness. By doing so, we can create a more equitable and sustainable future for rural women, communities and countries as a whole.
Cite this article as:
Poonam Mishra, “Agripreneurship Empowering Rural Women: Barriers And Opportunities For Women Entrepreneurship Worldwide”, Vol.5 & Issue 2, Law Audience Journal (e-ISSN: 2581-6705), Pages 71 to 79 (3rd June 2023), available at https://www.lawaudience.com/agripreneurship-empowering-rural-women-barriers-and-opportunities-for-women-entrepreneurship-worldwide/.
