Entrepreneurship In Farming

There are two parts to entrepreneurship. The first is the managerial skills needed to start and run a profitable farm business. The second is ‘entrepreneurial spirit’. Both are important. Managerial skills can be taught, but an entrepreneurial spirit cannot be taught.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a key factor for the survival of small scale farming in an ever-changing and increasingly complex global economy.

Farmers as entrepreneurs

Farmer-entrepreneurs see their farms as a business. They see their farms as a means of earning profits. They are passionate about their farm business and are willing to take calculated risks to make their farms profitable and their businesses grow.

The entrepreneurial environment

Farmer-entrepreneurs operate in a complex and dynamic environment. They are part of a larger collection of people including other farmers, suppliers, traders, transporters, processors and many others. Each of these has a role to play in producing products and moving them through to the market – through the value chain. Each one needs to be an entrepreneur. They also need to respect each other and work together to make the whole system work better and be more profitable.

Entrepreneurship dynamics

But beyond this, successful farmer-entrepreneurs are technically competent, innovative and plan ahead so they can steer their farm businesses through the stages of enterprise development – from establishment and survival to rapid growth and maturity. However, there are many challenges that these farmers face: social barriers, economic barriers, regulations, access to finance and information, and their own managerial capacity to cope with risks and changes and to seize opportunities.