A STUDY OF SMALL AGRIPRENEURS AND THEIR BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Abstract

In India a lot of agriculture produce does not make good profit for lack of good marketing and lack of proper planning on the logistics front. If properly planned and marketed, the same produce can give huge turnover. Referring to the agriculture produce market of the middle size town of Jabalpur – the total vegetable and fruit market (excluding grain market) has an approximate turnover of Rs.50 lacs per day. This includes 20% to 22% vegetable market and the balance 28% fruit market. Further, the turnover of an average individual farmer ranges from around Rs.50000/- to Rs.200000/- per day. These figures are with reference to the whole sellers. In case of the individuals indulging in retail business, the small petty retailers have per day earning ranging from Rs.500/- to Rs.5000/-, again subject to certain conditions. These farmers can pull in much better profits but are the victims of the system, which involve the intermediaries, the local market rules, and the lack of ability to market the produce and so on, which can be discussed in detail. This is a small research conducted on the basis that, the small and marginal farmers who come to the local city market either are required to sell their entire produce to a whole seller at a very low margin or they are required to retail the entire produce with a high risk of retaining a huge balance of goods. In both the cases, the farmer is lead to a loss. The study has been conducted to understand the basic operating procedure they follow and the problems they come across in their venture of Agripreneurship Development and its Management. The hypothesis adhered was that, “All factors remaining same if the farmers are given assistance, and they can earn a better profit out of their produce.” Since the research has been only for the understanding of the agribusiness and its development, the methodology undertaken has been of personal interviews through means of random sampling. A total sample size of 117 such farmers were taken ranging from small to middle size farmers. The study also leads to an insight wherein the Agripreneurs with either some modular planning and/or some modification in the state of the products get into better business opportunities. There are a couple of extraordinary examples to be sighted related to Agripreneurship further leading to a good agriculture development and its management. Key Words : Agripreneurs, Agriculture Produce, Agricultural Logistics, Agri Produce business opportunities.

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