Role of Disruptive Innovations and Agripreneurship as drivers of Sustainable Agricultural Development, for future India

Agriculture continues to play an important role in the economy of Indian farmers. More than 55% of the rural population are either directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. Also, despite strong demand pull for agri sector, challenges such as growing population, smaller land holding, lack or poor adoption of improved agricultural practices, complex supply chain involving several intermediaries, and inadequate service to the end customer at the last mile continue to limit the sustained growth. From a scenario of `Green Revolution’ and `Food Security’, we should now move towards safeguarding the `Income Security’ of farmers. To overcome these challenges it is imperative to ensure that there is continuous innovations in the agricultural sector by way of introduction of (1) novel disruptive technologies to solve farm related problems and enable quick decision making by farmers which will improve the overall yield and productivity of crops and (2) encourage the spirit of Agripreneurship and in turn increase employment opportunities and income levels, among rural youths. Agripreneurship refers to the process of adopting modern farming techniques with a business acumen. In other words, it is the concept of transforming an agricultural idea or vision into a commercial business proposition for the benefit of farming community at large. The present paper highlights the role of some of the novel disruptive innovations that are adapted across value chain to solve `Farm to Fork’ problems along with the concept of Agripreneurship, for the sustainable agricultural development, for future India.