The Innate Entrepreneurship of Farming Communities

Farming isn’t like other professions. Not only does it require land — a scarce resource in any country — but it also requires major investments in agricultural resources for irrigation, soil treatment and seeds. Yet, for some reason, we don’t treat farmers the same way as we do entrepreneurs — there’s no make in India initiative for farmers. Instead farmers are often seen as an inherently regressive section of society. However this could not be further from the truth.

In India the farming community is closely tied to rural livelihoods and incomes. Not only are nearly two-thirds of the population engaged in agriculture, non-agricultural rural employment is highly dependent on farmers as well. This means that just in the way the entrepreneurs are job creators in urban areas, farmers are the engine behind production in rural areas.

Further, there is a large number of female farmers and agricultural workers. This gives rural women a means for economic empowerment that they would not otherwise have. Many women have farming in conjunction with micro-loans to develop their own non-farm businesses, making farming the backbone of female economic participation in the countryside.

Finally, there is the obvious point of food security. Farmers, not only create important employment opportunities and innovate in their own ways, but also provide food for the rest of the economy. In other words, farmers are arguably even more important to an economy than entrepreneurs are. For these reasons, we must challenge the prevailing opinion regarding farmers in every space that it is encountered. Our livelihoods would not be possible without farmers. It’s time we appreciated their work.