Comparative Assessment of Agri-Entrepreneurs of Uttarakhand and Punjab State, India

Abstract

Agri-entrepreneurship is frequently construed as a tool for empowering the rural unemployed agri-graduates, who have the caliber, capability of starting a venture and to excel in the field of agriculture and allied to agriculture. It has become a cornerstone of rural economic transformation in India.  This empirical study undertakes a systematic comparative assessment of agripreneurs operating in two contrasting agro-climatic states — Uttarakhand and Punjab — who received training under the Government of India's Agri-Clinics and Agri-Business Centre (ACABC) Scheme. A sample of 120 agripreneurs (60 per state) was drawn using simple random sampling supported by snowball sampling from two designated training centres: the College of Agribusiness Management (CABM), Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) and the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP), Amritsar (Punjab). Data were collected through a pre-tested, expert-validated interview schedule and analysed using the two-sample Z-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results revealed statistically significant inter-state differences in age (Z = 1.98*), land holding (Z = 1.98*), social participation (Z = 1.97*), risk-taking ability (Z = 1.99*), and training motivation factors (Z = 2.77*). Correlation analysis identified land holding (r = 0.351**) and risk-taking ability (r = 0.198*) as significant positive predictors of training needs, while social participation showed a significant negative relationship (r = −0.198*). The findings underline the need for region-specific, context-sensitive training designs under the ACABC Scheme. The study will be helpful to the various stakeholders (individual scientists, academic organization and Govt. officials) for understanding the impact of socio-economic, institutional, and environmental differences in shaping the agri entrepreneurship development across the country.