Agripreneurship – A Tool to Empower Rural Women

Abstract

Background: The growth and development of any country depends upon how well its resources, be it physical, financial or human, are put to use. Amongst these resources, the most vital is the human resources. Women constitute nearly one half of the world's population having enormous potential but being underutilised or unutilised for the economic development of the nation. Objectives: The study aims to explore different enterprises for women in the food sector as well as examine the obstacles faced by the women for setting up their own business in India. The study also makes a framework strategies for rapid growth of women entrepreneurship in the food sector. Materials and Methods: This paper is descriptive. Secondary data has been collected from various books, journals, thesis, websites, reports, research papers and our experiences as an extension worker. Results and Recommendations: Women play a crucial role in the agriculture production because agriculture merely not only involves the production of food grains but also it's processing preservation and packaging. Therefore, more attention needs to be paid for the development of women entrepreneurship in food processing, preserving and packaging of the products. Skill development training for starting different enterprises should be imparted. Rural women should be targeted as a raw material can be readily available and generated at nearby places. Promoting and rewarding programmes serves women entrepreneurs should be enhanced. Conclusion: There is great need to explore more women who are enthusiastic and have skills, strong willpower, need and potential to start, operate, manage and bear the risk of starting up an enterprise and to do something productive. Moreover, the development of entrepreneurship in women is essential for sustaining a competitive atmosphere in the context of globalisation of the economy.