A study of factors influencing growth and scale of post harvest agriculture based social enterprises in India

Abstract

Social enterprises are referred to as social entrepreneurial organisations (Mair et al. 2013), hybrid organisations (Powell 1987), and social businesses (Yunus, 2010). Alter (2007) categorises social enterprises across the hybrid spectrum based on their philanthropic and commercial orientations and the mission orientation of their activities. Social enterprises create social value by integrating people, resources and opportunity through activities within the non-profit, for-profit business or government sectors (Austin et al.,2012). In India, social enterprises are present in sectors that are characterized by challenges in access and affordability for people living at the base of the economic pyramid such as renewable energy, education, healthcare, agriculture, water and sanitation, and access to finance. Agriculture provides employment to a large proportion of the population but its contribution to the GDP is low, and there is significant waste in the post-harvest phase, particularly for fruits and vegetables cultivated by small- holder farmers. Post-harvest losses impact farmers and consumers, and can be reduced with improved storage, transportation and market linkages (Hodges et al., 2011; Gajanana et al, 2011; Hegazy 2013). Market linkages and mainstreaming of small-holder farmers into formal markets will help address these challenges (Dastagiri et al 2013; Kitinoja and Tokala, 2018).