Agri-entrepreneurial innovations for rural prosperity and sustainable development

Innovation is the key to human development. Innovations in the domain of agriculture is inevitable for an agrarian country like India, where agriculture is a primary mean of livelihoods for more than 70 per cent population. Further, recent Agriculture Census report (2015–16) of India indicates that prevailing traditional farming is no more sufficient and profitable venture for sustainable rural development and there is compelling need for innovative solutions to generate effective employment and self-employment opportunities to engage the rural youth in their own surroundings and create sustainable means to increase the income of the rural household. In this background, Agri-entrepreneurial innovations may serve as viable, sustainable solution to meet the pressing needs and aspirations of rural population and enable them to earn more and live a decent life. The aim of this review paper is to explore the various dimensions of the subject, which includes: concept of innovation and agri-entrepreneurship, attributes of an agri-entrepreneur, challenges of the agri-entrepreneurial sector, opportunities and support system available for agripreneurs.