Factors and Activities Considered by First Generation Agripreneurs for Agri-Business Sustainable Development: A Study of Haryana, India

Abstract

The main objective of the present study is to identify the factors and activities considered by first generation agripreneuers in managing agribusiness which plays a vital role in the success and sustainable development of any agribusiness. To accomplish this objective, a factor analysis method was adopted to gather and understand the findings. The data has been gathered from four geographical zones (East zone, West zone, North zone, South zone) of Haryana state comprising 22 districts through a purposive sampling strategy. The major findings of the study highlight that out of seven factors, effective leadership was considered the most important factor with the highest Cronbach value 0.812. It plays significant role in the success of any enterprise by ensuring supportive environment for the workers in agro-industries. Strategic planning was also important because becoming a successful agripreneur requires planning before converting all business activities into action.In addition, all the other factors such as scanning business opportunities, organizing and business activities, prior analysis, and credit facilities all play a vital role in the success of agro-industries.

1. Introduction

In India, agriculture faces a variety of challenges that together lead to sustainability problems, and indicators of agricultural insecurities include lack of desired income, poor growth and the movement of farmers away from the business sector [1]. Sustainable agribusiness is defined as a response to the health, social and ecological risks that society is facing today due to economic growth and globalisation [2]. As the population grows in developing countries, demand and need for food will continue increasing day by day so to fulfil this demand with available land and water resources, one needs to focus on resource efficiency and sustainable production [3]. Efficient production and better quality of agricultural produce help in improving the social, economic as well as natural environment of their employees, farmers and local communities all known as sustainable agriculture, which also protects the welfare and health of all farmers’ species [4,5]. The term “sustainable agriculture” began to gain popularity in the 1980′s in the US. Consequently, a project on low input sustainable agriculture was created. The US congress formally considered and defined sustainable agriculture within the law in 1990s. The national government launched the national mission for sustainable agriculture in India in 2014–2015, which has ten underlying elements and dimensions that define sustainable agriculture in India [6,7].

As a result, over the past 50 years, India’s agricultural output has tended to increase annually. The crop year 2020–2021 is expected to see an increase in food grain production in India of 3.74 percent, reaching a new high of 308.65 million metric tons. The country’s food grain production for the year 2019–2020 crop year (July–June), which includes wheat, rice, pulses, and coarse cereals, reached a new record 297.5 million tonnes, a significant rise from the time of the early Green Revolution [4]. With the use of contemporary practises and technologies, India underwent a shift during the Green Revolution that transformed agriculture into an industrial system. As a result, all varieties of crops within India produced more and were more productive dramatically increasing both. Its negative consequences on soil, water, biodiversity, human health, and other natural resources soon became apparent; therefore, this success was only fleeting [8]. Farmers in India dominate the agricultural sector and tend to prioritise maintaining the same things or doing them better rather than trying anything new.

John H. Davis of Harvard University coined the term “agribusiness” for the first time in 1955. Agricultural entrepreneurship can be further broken down in to different independent sectors such as farm produce, input supply and output. Although these two definitions of agribusiness have gained acceptance in recent years [9,10], “Entrepreneurship is crucial for changing the agricultural industry.” Entrepreneurs are pioneers who create change or develop fresh approaches to old problems. Entrepreneurs whose primary line of work is agriculture or businesses related to it are known as “agripreneurs.” Agripreneurship places a strong emphasis on „directly marketed, sustainable agriculture”. Agribusiness will emerge from the farm. An agricultural entrepreneur is a progressive individual who does numerous agricultural-based tasks using diverse resources, including financial, human, informational, and physical, to achieve a certain goal [11]. An individual who engages in different activities of agriculture and allied sectors is considered an “agripreneur.” An agripreneur may establish an agribusiness, alter enterprise strategy, purchase a company, or engage in innovative value-adding activities [12].

The next paragraph gives a brief overview that Why India is encouraging Agribusiness sustainable development.

India has all 15 major climates in the world, from the snow-capped Himalayas to the warm, humid southern peninsula, the Thar Desert to locations with significant rainfall. Nearly 46 out of the 60 soil types are present in the country, which has 20 agro-climatic areas. With 17% of the world’s animal, 12% of its plant, and 10% of its fish genetic resources located in India, the country is the global centre for biodiversity in animals and plants, microorganisms, and insects. Crop diversification has received a lot of attention recently, particularly in the areas of vegetables, fruits, ornamental crops, aromatic and medicinal plants, and spices; plantations crops (coconut, cashew nuts, and cocoa); and related activities. Unemployment, nderemployment, and disguised unemployment are major issues in the country, particularly among rural residents. The provision of viable and sustainable business possibilities in Indian agribusiness is crucial for creating employment in the nation, as 2/3 of the nation’s people are employed in the agriculture industry [4]. The lifeblood of modern economies is entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity [13,14]. Discovery, risk, and solutions are all components of entrepreneurship, which promotes the expansion and improvement of businesses. An individual’s capacity to combine money, labour, and natural resources to create a business for increased profits while taking significant risks exemplifies their entrepreneurial spirit [13]. According to author Stolyarova O.A.’s definition in his work, „The function of fixed assets in boosting the efficiency of crop production” [13,15]. Efficiency is a measure of a system’s (or organizations, department’s, or person’s) capacity to produce the desired outcome while making efficient use of available resources [16]. Technical and financial efficiency improve the effectiveness of agriculture [13,17]. Agribusiness sustainable development can help reduce environmental damage, maintain and safeguard natural resources, and boost energy efficiency as well. Creating new jobs and employment opportunities in remote rural areas is one of the main objectives of entrepreneurship growth in developing countries’ agricultural sectors because a large portion of the developing world is rural and suffers from chronic unemployment [18,19]. Agripreneurship is a feasible alternative to upward mobility, with every 1% increase in entrepreneurial activities reducing poverty by 2% [20]. The younger generation has a major lack of interest in starting their own businesses in the agricultural sector, despite the development of concepts in naval education such as agribusiness management. This is especially evident in nations like India, Indonesia, Nepal, and Sri-Lanka [21]. Agricultural entrepreneurship not only includes agriculture and related activities but also covers industrial activities such as farm machinery, farm supplies, chemicals, fertilizers, and farm produce processors. Therefore, agribusiness divided in to different major segments such as input suppliers, market intermediaries, input manufacturers, food processors, integrated agri-business and marketers, so the sustainable development of agribusiness plays a vital role in improving the accessibility and quality of agri produce [9].

The prime objective of the study was to discover the major success factors impacting the sustainable development of agribusiness. Additional goals included determining the vital factors that most significantly impacted the success and profitability of agribusiness enterprises. The unique reason to study in Haryana state is that it is well known as the land of rich agricultural prosperity. Haryana is one of India’s smaller states, with 4.4 million hectares of land, accounting for 1.34 percent of the country’s total geographical area, and contributing 15.6 percent of food cereals to the country’s central pool. With the support of agricultural research, strong infrastructure facilities, and an improved network, all such efficient information has been improved, converting the state into a food surplus state [22]. Haryana has emerged as a major producer of white button mushrooms, currently ranked first in India in terms of seasonal mushroom cultivation. The abundant supply of paddy straw and wheat, as well as the easy availability of high-quality spawn and holistic training programmes provided by the Haryana government, have all contributed to an increase in mushroom production. The livestock sector accounts for roughly 30% of the state’s agricultural GDP, and milk and egg production have increased by more than five and 160 times, respectively, since the state’s inception. The state also has a high potential for increased cultivation of high-income-generating crops like poultry, sugar, fisheries, and horticulture [23]. Its maximum contribution of food grains to the central pool The state has also made rapid progress in developing the industrial sector, demonstrating progressive progress towards achieving long-term development goals [24]. The reason behind the study in Haryana is that the state is succeeding in reaching out to developing countries, but household welfare, inadequate knowledge of managing activities in business, and poverty in rural areas of the state remain major concerns. Additionally, the research aims at a comprehensive study of the first generation of agripreneurs for their betterment and upliftment. The study proposes 23 statements or sub-factors to investigate the first generation entrepreneurs’ life conditions, financial conditions, subsidies, profit, and so on. For easy and better understanding of the agripreneurs, this research then finally evaluates the seven main factors as well as incorporates the main factors from the sub-factors in such a manner to cover all the statements and elucidate the diverse fields of agribusiness like mushoom cultivation, poultry farming, aquaculture, floriculture, horticulture, beekeeping, organic farming, and dairy farming for a prominent north Indian agricultural and dairy region. This study will not only help the first generation of agribusiness entrepreneurs overcome their shortcomings but also lead to a better and healthier life. Furthermore, it can identify and raise awareness about the critical factors required for the success of any agro-enterprise for the benefit of first-generation agripreneurs as well as the long-term development of agribusiness. Despite numerous government efforts to improve agribusiness activities in rural areas, successful first generation agripreneurs are few and far between because they must overcome numerous constraints and challenges in order to transform their farming into a successful agribusiness. Some major constraints and internal factors for starting a new venture are inadequate finance, a lack of technical know-how, and a lack of awareness about the potential business. Other obstacles to agripreneur success include a lack of adequate knowledge of technology, capital, information, and poor connectivity with marketing activities; insufficient institutional and extension services; non-responsive government policies; marketing issues; a higher initial cost of production, and so on. They have opportunities in the form of apiculture, aquaculture, floriculture, horticulture, food processing, etc.

They can pick one of these and start a new business in it. In a nutshell, if India is to grow, more young people must be encouraged to pursue careers in agriculture. The present study contributes in many ways compared to the existing scenario. Firstly, it shows the significant activities and factors of different agribusinesses like mushroom cultivation, poultry farming, aquaculture, floriculture, horticulture, beekeeping, organic farming, and dairy farming to the first generation of agripreneurs in increasing the productivity and selling of agri-products, as well as the growth and expansion of agribusinesses. Secondly, it helps in the sustainable development of all the above agribusinesses. The first generation of agripreneurs are unaware of the issues affecting their business and family life. They focus primarily on production enhancement and their leadership qualities to improve their business. This paper suggests that young agripreneurs improve their leadership skills through proper training and guidance from experts in their respective fields. The first generation of agripreneurs learns from the experiences shared by them and invites them for lectures. This helps them boost their confidence and develop the leadership qualities they need to sell their products.

The following is how the study was introduced: Section 1 focuses on introduction and background, while Section 2 includes a literature review. Section 3 introduces the data analysis, tools and techniques, sample size, and research design. The major findings are mentioned in Section 4 and Section 5, presented with discussion. Section 6 presented the conclusion and suggestions of the study.

2. Literature Review

Entrepreneurial performance is positively impacted by factors including overall investment, education, and government assistance programs [9]. Creativity, entrepreneurship, and the work environment all play a role in a company’s success. Additionally, the struggle against poverty, the difficulties with work and education, the excitement for business, and the issues with social involvement all have an impact on an entrepreneurial career [10]. In several developing nations, the government has a significant impact on how successful entrepreneurs are. These include financial and technical aid, training programmes and seminars, development and consultancy, and information resources, among other government subsidies and support policies [25]. Agripreneurship success is strongly connected with personality attributes (such as adaptability, risk-taking, discerning, etc.), business and managerial knowledge and abilities, and entrepreneurial experience [26]. Furthermore, the success of agricultural entrepreneurs is significantly impacted by a lack of necessary resources, including the political climate, market access, and specialised knowledge and expertise [27]. Additionally, the development of micro-entrepreneurship is positively impacted by the entrepreneurs’ education, the demand for the goods or services, the accessibility of workspace for business growth, and the accessibility of sufficient financial resources [28]. Access to financial resources, an entrepreneurial environment, taxes, support, regulations, and coordinated training in every area described by specialist groups like entrepreneurial associations and clubs, governmental organizations, and business centres all serve to promote entrepreneurship. Empirical research identifies variables that affect entrepreneurship, including technology, environment, and institutions; economic development; demography; government expenditure; personal traits; social environment features; training; and the availability of access to financial resources [29]. India can guarantee considerably greater prosperity by enhancing market performance and agricultural policies. For the development of agricultural marketing, they recommended specific ways to remove specific obstacles. The study came to the conclusion that, in order to ensure the survival and expansion of the Indian agricultural market, the agricultural sector’s ability to support rural economic growth and the reduction of poverty in India must be strengthened. To this end, effective marketing strategies must be implemented in order to increase the competitiveness of various crops [30,31]. According to the results, in terms of safety and stability, the banking system is crucial for management in the agriculture sector as a whole. Nevertheless, if we take into account the process of capitalising on non-performing lending activities and how to manage asymmetric or abusive contractual clauses, it can be seen that its operating regime involves large expenses for the system that can be readily transmitted to customers. Additionally, the financial products intended for the agricultural business sector believe that each sort of activity should have its own specific financing options based on factors like culture, industrialization, investment, etc. [32]. There is a lack of human capital in the agriculture industry, and the knowledge gap between science and practical know-how on the ground is widening. This knowledge gap needs to be filled quickly if small farms are to become more productive and profitable. Through initiatives like the creation of competency-based curricula and multimedia training modules, designing and implementing the testing and certification mechanism, and creating qualification frameworks, the ODL can actively contribute to the successful implementation of the Skill Development Mission [33]. Only having access to credit is not sufficient for agripreneurs to run the agro industry; they also have the knowledge and a clear understanding of how to utilise the credit, like interest and repayment, and the difference between the seasonal production cost and operating capital for input production [34]. According to the study, agricultural and allied activities are viewed as a main source of input for food processing industries and other big industries, as well as a demand for other industrial produce like agriculture implements, pesticides, and fertilizers [35,36]. Although agro-industries earn profits in the short run by implementing business activities such as ethical accountability, social business behavior, and stakeholder interests, these activities ensure the survival of any agro-industry, some other factors have also played a significant role in the success of agri-preneurship, such as agricultural work experience, manager experience and education, an adequate amount of finance, and the number of household members serving as managers [37,38]. Efficient productivity is dependent on external conditions, which are further classified as the natural world (such as climate, weather, and so on) and the social world (such as beliefs, attitudes, relationships, behavior, and so on). According to the study, neither technology nor other factors can be part of efficient production without people’s better decisions, whose decisions are impacted in terms of social competition. Better pesticides, seeds, fertilizer, and crop varieties can only boost productivity [39]. In another study of sustainable agribusiness development and food marketing management. In India, after the “Green Revolution”, which assured large quantities of food security and agricultural production, we should prepare ourselves for the “Market Revolution”, which, with its rainbow colors, ensures equitable prices to the farmers as well as provides qualitative products at reasonable prices to the consumers [9].

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Systematic Review and Data Collection

This research analysed the major success elements impacting agricultural entrepreneurship, which plays a vital role in managing agro-industries like opportunity scanning, business planning, organising, directing, controlling, and evaluating. To present this objective, the factor analysis method has been used to access the valuable factors in managing agro-industries. The data has been gathered from four geographical zones (East zone, West zone, North zone, and South zone) of Haryana state, comprising 22 districts, by non-probability sampling through a purposive sampling strategy. The study considered all of the agripreneurs who were involved in different agribusinesses like mushroom cultivation, dairy farming, aquaculture, beekeeping, poultry farming, horticulture, floriculture, organic farming, food processing, and medicinal plants, etc. number of first-generation agripreneurs from four geographic zones of Haryana. The purpose of the research study in four geographic zones in Haryana state was to survey excessive agripreneur growth and inadequate welfare awareness among the agripreneurs [40].

The Purposive Sampling Method was used to select 180 agri-entrepreneurs from 22 Haryana districts, representing small, medium, and large levels of agri-preneurship in Haryana’s East Zone, West Zone, North Zone, and South Zone. A well-structured questionnaire was prepared and distributed among respondents to gather valuable data and information for further analysis. The demographic profile of selected agripreneurs for the study has been presented below in

Table 1. Demographic profile of first generation agripreneurs.

Variables	Frequency	Percent
Gender
Male	167	92.8
Female	13	7.2
Education of First Generation Agripreneurs
Primary education	38	21.1
Secondary education	60	33.3
Graduate	56	31.1
Post Graduate	26	14.4
Experience in Agri-enterprise
Less than 2 years	8	4.4
Between 2–5 years	48	26.7
More than 5 years	124	68.9
No of employees
Less than 10	109	60.6
Between 10–50	47	26.1
More than 50	24	13.3
Ownership of the agri- enterprise
Sole Proprietor	125	69.4
Partnership	30	16.7
Public & Private Ltd. Co.	25	13.9

Source: Primary Data.

.

The table from the selected sample revealed that out of 180 respondents, 167 (92.8%) were male and the remaining 13 (7.2%) were female agripreneurs. The highest percentages of respondents possessed secondary education (60, or 33.3%), and the least were post-graduates (26, or 14.4%). As exhibited in Table 1, the agripreneurs in the study have more than 5 years’ experience in agricultural entrepreneurship, and 8 (4.4%) were found to have less than 2 years’ experience in agricultural entrepreneurship. The first generation of agripreneurs in this study observed that the majority of them had less than 10 employees in their enterprises, whereas only a small percentage of 24 (13.3%) had more than 50 employees. Another demographic characteristic of first generation agripreneurs was ownership of the agri-enterprise, with a majority of 125 (69.4%) of respondents being sole proprietors and a small percentage of 25 (13.9%) having private and public limited companies in Haryana, India.

3.2. Statistical Tools and Techniques

The statistical package for social science (SPSS) 23 software has been used to analyse the variables’ reliability and validity through appropriate statistical techniques, including factor analysis [41]. The well-structured questionnaire was based on a 7-point Likert scale to gather valuable information from agribusiness entrepreneurs.

Factor Analysis

Factor analysis is a multivariate statistical method used to examine a single set of variables to determine which variables form logical subgroups that are technically independent of one another [42]. In other words, factor analysis is particularly effective for identifying the factors underlying the variables by grouping related variables into the same factor [43]. The assumption underlying factor analysis is that all variables correlate to a certain extent. The relevant factors should be analysed at least at the ordinal level. The size of the sample should be larger for factor analysis [44,45]. It is an exploratory data analysis used to simplify and reducing a large set of data into smaller and more understandable data. In the present study factor analysis helped in assembling a large set of data of similar aspect in to fewer no of factors, hence it has been used to achieve the objective of the study i.e., to examine and analyse the access to agricultural activities in managing the agro industry by first-generation agripreneurs. Here in the study, we evaluated important factors considered by first generation agripreneurs that play a vital role in managing agro-industries among 23 factors related to opportunity scanning, business planning, organising, directing, controlling, and evaluation by using factor analysis.

In order to study the objective, the different statements have been estimated with the help of a five-point Likert scale ranging from always to never. The following scores were assigned: 5 for always, 4 for frequently, 3 for occasionally, 2 for rarely, and 1 for never.

Some essentials for factor analysis are listed below:

Kaiser-Myer-Olkin (KMO) test: The Kaiser-Myer-Olkin measure of sample adequacy is used to measure the reliability of data. The KMO test considers the values between 0 and 1 only; therefore, a value close to 1 considered a high value indicates factor analysis might be suitable for the data, while a value less than 0.50 is considered not suitable for the data [46,47].

Bartlett’s test of sphericity: The Bartlett’s test of sphericity shows the relationship between variables and the adequacy of the sample, therefore it considers the value less than 0.50, which indicates that the null hypothesis has been rejected and shows the relation among the variables.

Correlation Matrix: The primary diagonal of the correlation matrix exists for the measured variables, whereas in the common factor analysis, the level of intersection exists in the primary diagonal of the correlation matrix. When the degree of intersection is close to 1, the results of all exploratory methods will be similar to those of the main components [48].

Factor Loading: Factor loadings are the values that describe the correlation coefficient of factors, and the variables show the variance described by the variable on that specific factor. If the value of factor loading is close to 0.7 or higher, it will be considered that the factor extracts adequate variance from the variable.

Rotated factor matrix: The rotated matrix comprises the loadings allotted to all the variables of the extracted factors.

Cronbach alpha value: Cronbach’s alpha helps in determining the consistency and reliability of the set of variables in the extracted factors.

Eigen value: Eigen value is also known as the latent root. It may be defined as the sum of the square of all the values of factor loading for a particular factor; therefore, it should always be greater than 1, and the aggregate of the eigenvalues could not be more than the number of components in the study.

Scree plot: A scree plot is a graphical representation of the Eigen values and the factor; thus, it aids in determining which relevant factors in the factor analysis should be considered and which should not.

The first step in factor analysis is to compute a correlation matrix from all variables. The degree of intersection in the correlation matrix should lie between 0 and 1. Here, 1 intersection defines that changes in a particular variable are accounted for by the common factors and undergo factor analysis, and 0 intersections indicates no change for the common factor. The intersections can only be analyzed using the squaring of multiple correlations. Another step is to get the factor loadings for new intersections computed again. If the difference in intersections after computation is greater than one, the computation of factor loading and factors is repeated by inserting new intersections into the matrix.

4. Results

4.1. The Activities Considered by First Generation Agripreneurs in Managing Their Business

The analysis given below presents various activities considered by first generation agripreneurs in managing their agro business. The responses on twenty three activities by first generation agripreneurs have been collected with the help of five- point likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The scores were assigned 5 to strongly agree, 4. agree, 3. can’t say, 2. disagree, 1. strongly disagree. Factor analysis method has been applied to analyse all those activities which are most frequently used by first generation agripreneurs in managing agro enterprise.

Table 2. KMO and Bartlett’s Test.

KMO and Bartlett’s Test
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy		0.786
Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity	Approx. Chi-Square	1360.626
	d.f	253
	Sig.	0.000

reveals the outcome of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity’s 23 factors. The values of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin sampling adequacy and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity are 0.786 and 1381.021, respectively, as shown in Table 2, which define the adequacy of the sample. The acceptability of factor analysis is possible only when KMO test values are greater than 0.05. The Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity in the below table reveals the relationship between variables. The value of BTS in the table has been observed to be 0.000 less than 0.05.

Table 3. Communalities of variables.

Variables	Initial	Extraction
Assessing profitability of enterprise	1.000	0.549
Considering credit facilities	1.000	0.657
Considering the location of the enterprise	1.000	0.639
Considering demand	1.000	0.787
Considering market research	1.000	0.676
Deciding aim/mission before starting enterprise activities	1.000	0.598
Taking adequate care in selection of products/services	1.000	0.531
Anticipating the obstacles in running the enterprise	1.000	0.684
Estimating the total cost before hand	1.000	0.624
Identifying money sources before starting enterprise activities	1.000	0.630
Considering the source of raw material well in advance	1.000	0.564
Identifying the enterprise activities before hand	1.000	0.644
Arranging the inputs for their timely use	1.000	0.623
Prioritizing enterprise work according to its importance	1.000	0.583
Collecting new information related to enterprise	1.000	0.637
Supervising enterprise activities	1.000	0.691
Motivating the workers to perform enterprise activities effectively	1.000	0.617
Communicating effectively to reduce grievances	1.000	0.799
Trying to take remedial action when something goes wrong in the enterprise	1.000	0.690
Ensuring proper utilization of resource available	1.000	0.575
Feedback from stakeholders	1.000	0.673
Reviewing the business condition of the enterprise	1.000	0.634
Self-assessment as an agripreneur	1.000	0.671

extracts the validity of individual factors that were observed more than the 0.05 threshold after the adequacy test on all variables, as shown in the communalities table below.

4.1.1. Total Variance

Table 4. Total variance explained.

Component	Initial Eigenvalues			Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings
	Total	% of Variance	Cumulative %	Total	% of Variance	Cumulative %
1	5.684	24.711	24.711	5.684	24.711	24.711
2	2.410	10.477	35.188	2.410	10.477	35.188
3	1.652	7.183	42.371	1.652	7.183	42.371
4	1.572	6.836	49.207	1.572	6.836	49.207
5	1.276	5.547	54.755	1.276	5.547	54.755
6	1.129	4.907	59.662	1.129	4.907	59.662
7	1.008	4.382	64.043	1.008	4.382	64.043
8	0.837	3.637	67.680
9	0.814	3.540	71.220
10	0.766	3.329	74.549
11	0.739	3.212	77.761
12	0.682	2.966	80.727
13	0.611	2.658	83.386
14	0.596	2.589	85.975
15	0.503	2.187	88.162
16	0.486	2.112	90.274
17	0.425	1.849	92.123
18	0.377	1.639	93.763
19	0.363	1.580	95.343
20	0.331	1.439	96.782
21	0.290	1.259	98.041
22	0.229	0.995	99.037
23	0.222	0.963	100.000

elucidates the total variance, which defines the quantity of factors whose Eigen values should always be greater than 1. The data have been determined for all the factors (variance percentage and cumulative variance percentage), and the extracted sum of the square loading has been shown in the table. It depicts that the Eigen value of the first seven factors is greater than 1. The first factor has 24.711 percent of variance, the second factor explains 10.477 percent of variance, followed by the third factor with 7.183 percent of variance, the fourth factor accounts for 6.836 percent of variance, the fifth factor has 5.547 percent of variance, followed by the sixth factor with 4.907 percent of variance, and the seventh factor accounts for 4.382 percent of variance.

Figure 1 gives the plot of eigen value with the 23 components. The factors 8 to 23 of total variance mentioned in Table 4 are insignificant due to their eigen value less than one as it is evident from Figure 1.

Table 5. Component Matrix.

	Component
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Communicating effectively to reduce grievances	0.722	−0.054	−0.356	−0.220	0.163	−0.110	−0.247
Supervising enterprise activities	0.681	−0.110	−0.422	−0.042	0.057	−0.075	−0.160
Motivating the workers to perform enterprise activities effectively	0.657	−0.064	−0.206	−0.219	0.052	−0.030	−0.296
Self-assessment as an agripreneur	0.641	−0.293	−0.024	−0.036	−0.387	0.065	0.134
Feedback from stakeholders	0.641	−0.486	0.072	−0.109	0.020	0.093	−0.011
Reviewing the business condition of the enterprise	0.622	0.041	−0.355	−0.066	−0.331	0.065	0.046
Collecting new information related to enterprise	0.550	0.112	0.117	−0.281	0.094	0.299	0.361
Estimating the total cost before hand	0.549	0.094	0.272	−0.110	0.040	−0.474	−0.013
Taking adequate care in selection of products	0.541	−0.002	0.373	0.037	−0.312	0.033	−0.004
Deciding aim/mission before starting enterprise activities	0.506	−0.174	0.227	0.115	−0.323	−0.065	0.373
Identifying the enterprise activities before hand	0.500	0.380	−0.100	0.399	−0.182	0.111	−0.188
Prioritizing enterprise work according to its importance	0.498	0.450	−0.273	0.063	0.232	0.022	0.006
Assessing profitability of enterprise	0.483	−0.162	−0.244	0.373	−0.284	0.094	0.031
Identifying money sources before starting enterprise activities	0.457	0.269	0.370	−0.062	0.086	−0.447	0.011
Ensuring proper utilization of resource available	0.355	0.641	0.144	−0.070	−0.034	0.107	−0.002
Considering the location of the enterprise	0.298	−0.611	0.160	0.177	0.243	0.141	0.204
Arranging the inputs for their timely use	0.277	0.488	0.107	0.425	0.121	0.284	0.143
Trying to take remedial action when something goes wrong in the enterprise	0.293	0.477	−0.132	−0.328	0.305	0.272	0.291
Anticipating the obstacles in running the enterprise	0.323	0.059	0.413	−0.613	−0.097	0.042	−0.135
Considering the source of raw material well in advance	0.335	0.311	0.294	0.438	0.035	−0.266	−0.069
Considering market research	0.463	−0.375	0.241	0.079	0.492	0.121	0.029
Considering credit facilities	0.337	−0.183	−0.268	0.273	0.362	−0.379	0.298
Considering demand	0.337	−0.183	0.389	0.276	0.200	0.361	−0.492

gives the Component Matrix of all the 23 factors.

4.1.2. Rotated Component Matrix

Table 6. Rotated component matrix.

Statements	Component
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Communicating effectively to reduce grievances	0.843	0.094	0.146	0.019	0.179	0.151	0.053
Supervising enterprise activities	0.768	0.212	0.121	0.089	0.063	0.057	0.156
Motivating the workers to perform enterprise activities effectively	0.722	0.133	0.163	0.028	0.171	0.091	−0.118
Reviewing the business condition of the enterprise	0.537	0.514	−0.149	0.152	−0.035	0.175	0.013
Self-assessment as an agripreneur	0.329	0.729	0.145	−0.014	0.064	0.037	−0.051
Deciding aim/mission before starting enterprise activities	−0.026	0.697	0.143	0.048	0.269	0.060	0.076
Assessing profitability of enterprise	0.302	0.521	0.093	0.312	−0.132	−0.151	0.172
Taking adequate care in selection of products/services	0.087	0.503	0.165	0.206	0.347	0.009	−0.284
Considering market research	0.161	0.065	0.766	−0.002	0.158	0.144	0.123
Considering the location of the enterprise	0.019	0.306	0.685	−0.129	−0.047	−0.043	0.226
Considering demand	0.122	−0.038	0.679	0.371	0.028	−0.187	−0.370
Feedback from stakeholders	0.399	0.448	0.521	−0.148	0.097	0.048	−0.044
Identifying the enterprise activities before hand	0.301	0.214	−0.079	0.711	0.078	0.007	−0.032
Arranging the inputs for their timely use	−0.124	0.046	0.079	0.700	0.033	0.323	0.073
Considering the source of raw material well in advance	−0.040	0.051	0.072	0.525	0.505	−0.110	0.102
Ensuring proper utilization of resource available	0.081	0.015	−0.182	0.440	0.296	0.434	−0.247
Prioritizing enterprise work according to its importance	0.425	−0.056	−0.064	0.437	0.138	0.400	0.175
Identifying money sources before starting enterprise activities	0.100	0.072	0.034	0.126	0.760	0.126	−0.006
Estimating the total cost before hand	0.250	0.176	0.073	0.026	0.710	0.066	0.034
Trying to take remedial action when something goes wrong in the enterprise	0.141	−0.097	−0.053	0.117	0.015	0.810	0.002
Collecting new information related to enterprise	0.162	0.346	0.218	0.046	0.125	0.634	−0.092
Considering credit facilities	0.228	0.074	0.207	0.005	0.203	0.029	0.717
Anticipating the obstacles in running the enterprise	0.166	0.129	0.087	−0.245	0.389	0.281	−0.582

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis. Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization. aRotation converged in 10 iterations., Source: Primary data.

shows the results of a rotated component matrix in which 23 statements were compiled and seven factors extracted using factor analysis from these statements, which are as follows: effective leadership, business planning, scanning business opportunities, organising enterprise activities, production planning, controlling business activities, and credit facilities. Only the factors with greater than one Eigen value have been considered. Further analysis revealed the factor loading of the seven extracted factors. The items are: communicating effectively, supervising enterprise activities, motivating the workers, and reviewing the business condition.

The items that have been loaded on Business Planning (Factor 2) are as follows: Self-assessment as an agripreneur, choosing an objective before beginning business activities, selecting products and services assessing profitability. In the Scanning Business Opportunities (factor 3) step, the following variables were loaded: market research, location of the enterprise, demand, and feedback from stakeholders.

The factors that have been loaded in (factor 4) and named as organising enterprise activities are: identifying the enterprise activities before hand; arranging the inputs for timely use; considering the source of raw materials well in advance; and prioritising enterprise work. The following statements have been loaded into factor 5: Identifying money sources, estimating the total cost, and anticipating the obstacles to running the enterprise In controlling business activities (factor 6), factors that were loaded include trying to take remedial action when something goes wrong in the enterprise, collecting new information related to the enterprise, and only one statement has been loaded in factor 7, which is considering credit facilities.

Data was checked through the rotated component matrix, and 23 items were reduced to seven factors with the help of the rotated component verimax. Factor analysis administered data in

Table 7. Factors and Eigen Values.

Factors	Statements	Factor Loading	Cronbach Value	Eigen Value	Total Variance
Effective Leadership	Communicating effectively to reduce grievances	0.843	0.812	5.684	24.711
	Supervising enterprise activities	0.768
	Motivating the workers to perform enterprise activities effectively	0.722
	Reviewing the business condition of the enterprise	0.537
Strategic planning	Self-assessment as an agripreneur	0.729	0.658	2.410	10.477
	Deciding aim/mission before starting enterprise activities	0.697
	Assessing profitability of enterprise	0.521
	Taking adequate care in selection of products/services	0.503
Scanning business opportunities	Considering market research	0.766	0.686	1.652	7.183
	Considering the location of the enterprise	0.685
	Considering demand	0.679
	Feedback from stakeholders	0.521
Organising and business activities	Identifying the enterprise activities before hand	0.711	0.691	1.572	6.836
	Arranging the inputs for their timely use	0.700
	Considering the source of raw material well in advance	0.525
	Ensuring proper utilization of resource available	0.440
	Prioritizing enterprise work according to its importance	0.437
Prior analysis	Identifying money sources before starting enterprise activities	0.760	0.586	1.276	5.547
	Estimating the total cost before hand	0.710
	Anticipating the obstacles in running the enterprise	0.389
Directing & controlling activities	Trying to take remedial action when something goes wrong in the enterprise	0.810	0.511	1.129	4.907
	Collecting new information related to enterprise	0.634

elucidates that the total variance between factors 1 to 7 was 24.711, 10.477, 7.183, 6.836, 5.547, 4.907, and 4.382, respectively, along with the Eigen values and their total variance explained.

All seven factors have been characterised according to the suitability of different statements. Seven factors created these: effective leadership (factor 1), strategic planning (factor 2), scanning business opportunities (factor 3), organising enterprise activities (factor 4), prior project analysis (factor 5), directing and controlling activities (factor 6), and credit facilities (factor 7).

Effective leadership (Factor 1) was the most important factor and attained the highest variance 24.711 with 5.684 Eigen and 0.812 Cronbach Alpha value among all the other factors. Out of all twenty three statements, 4 statements have been allotted to this factor such as: communicating effectively, supervising enterprise, motivating the workers, reviewing the business condition, and prioritizing enterprise work. Here it may be concluded that effective leadership play significant role in success of any enterprise including agri-businesses. This is the key to success for the enterprise. Strategic planning (Factor 2) also play significant role with second highest total variance 10.477 with 2.410 Eigen and 0.658 Cronbach Alpha Values. Four statements have been loaded under the factor 2 like self- assessment as an agripreneur, deciding aim before starting enterprise activities, assessing profitability and adequate care in selection of products/service. Hence, it is concluded that to become a successful agripreneur, planning must be done before converting all the business activities in to action. Planning is also required for regular assessment of profitability as well helps in expanding the business. The third important factor was scanning business opportunities and obtained total variance 7.183 with 1.652 Eigen and 0.686 Cronbach Alpha value. Four statements were considered for load on it which included: considering market research, considering the location of enterprise, considering demand and feedback from stakeholders. It determined that business position can be strengthen by considering market research and customer feedback.

Organising the business activities (factor 4) was having 6.836 total variance, 1.572 Eigen and 0.691 Cronbach Alpha Value with five statements loaded on this factor such as identifying the enterprise activities, arranging the inputs for timely use, considering the source of raw material, proper utilization of available resources and prioritizing enterprise work. It was determined that for the success and growth of any business timely procurement and adequate utilization of input along with other business activities must be done by agripreneurs and other entrepreneurs. Prior Project Analysis (factor 5) has been allotted three statements with having 5.547 per cent of total variance, 1.276 Eigen and 0.586 Cronbach Alpha Values. Hence, it was concluded that proper prior analysis and estimation of business resources should be done by agripreneurs to manage the agro enterprise. Controlling business activities (factor 6) has obtained least 4.907 per cent of total variance with 1.129 Eigen and 0.511 Cronbach Alpha Value and only two statements were loaded under this factor and for the growth of enterprise the agripreneurs must take the corrective actions to minimising the deviations and errors to increase the productivity. Finally Credit facilities (factor 7) only single statement has loaded under this factor. All above stated findings are in conformity with the results of other scholars [49,50].

5. Discussion

The research proposes 23 statements, which have been framed in novel ways based on diverse agricultural fields like dairy farming, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping, poultry farming, aquaculture, floriculture, organic farming, medicinal plants, value-added food production, etc., to examine life conditions, financial conditions, subsidies, profit, etc., among the first generation of agripreneurs. The statements have been analysed using factor analysis. With the help of rotated component verimax, these 23 items were reduced to seven factors. All of the factors have been characterised according to the suitability of different statements. Seven factors were created, and these were: effective leadership (factor 1), strategic planning (factor 2), scanning business opportunities (factor 3), organising enterprise activities (factor 4), prior project analysis (factor 5), directing and controlling activities (factor 6), and credit facilities (factor 7). Other scholars in their study of agripreneurs consider three or five factors to analyse the success of agribusiness without diversifying the field of agribusiness [51,52]. Other than these factors, some scholars found that human resources capacities, production efficiency, managerial knowledge, technology capabilities and improvement, human capital, natural resources, and political situation, etc. are the factors that influence agribusiness organisation productivity and are the most significant factors for the success of agribusiness [4,53,54]. Effective leadership (Factor 1) was the most important and significant factor and attained the highest variance (24.711) among all the other factors. The study concluded that effective leadership plays a significant role in the success of any enterprise, including agri-entrepreneurship. This is the key to the enterprise’s success. Leadership skills were considered the fifth highest factor with 10.44 percent of variance in another study [55]. In general, the success rate of agricultural entrepreneurship increases only with the agripreneur’s experience in running businesses as well as with the agripreneur’s experience in agricultural entrepreneurship; within one year, the success rate of agricultural entrepreneurship would rise by 0.56% [56]. Another study indicates that managers in agricultural organisations tend to think like leaders, and their actions are very close to the advanced and new knowledge needed for effective leadership. It is a reality that the business environment demands a high level of professionalism, creativity, and adequate knowledge to coordinate their leadership [50]. According to the present study, strategic planning (Factor 2) also played a significant role, with the second highest total variance of 10.477. Under factor 2, four statements have been loaded: self-assessment as an agripreneur, deciding on a goal before beginning business activities, assessing profitability, and taking adequate care in product and service selection. Hence, it is concluded that to become a successful agripreneur, planning must be done before converting all the business activities into action. It is required for regular assessments of profitability and also helps in expanding the business. Another study found that the strategy factor ranked second (0.34718) among all other factors. This factor loaded nine statements: price volatility, poor product quality, too many buyers of input, conservation challenge, lack of hole shooters, activity location, inefficient products, lack of packaging, and too many competitors [57]. Four statements have been loaded under factor 2 in the present study. But the study of other scholars gave importance to the single statement that agripreneurs should have a distinct mission and vision to use strategic planning tools, although more data requires rewarding the agripreneurs with better performance [58]. Agricultural entrepreneurs should view market uncertainty first while planning strategically rather than other factors, as they consider it the biggest obstacle to strategic planning [59]. Scanning business opportunities is the third important factor. We obtained a total variance of 7.183 and considered four statements on it, which were: considering market research, considering the location of the enterprise, considering demand, and feedback from stakeholders. It was determined that business positions can be strengthened by considering market research and customer feedback. Organizing the business activities (factor 4) had a 6.836 total variance with five statements loaded on this factor, such as identifying the enterprise activities, arranging the inputs for timely use, considering the source of raw materials, proper utilisation of available resources, and prioritising enterprise work. It was determined that for the success and growth of any business, timely procurement and adequate utilisation of input, along with other business activities, must be done by agripreneurs and other entrepreneurs. Some of the scholars found no remarkable effect of organisational activities and size on technology adoption and other business decisions [60,61,62]. The opportunity factor is considered the sixth factor with 6.437 percent of variation. This factor includes risk orientation and economic motivation. Both variables were classified as part of the opportunity factor. According to the study, it was easier to identify opportunities in agripreneurship because of economic motivation and risk orientation [55]. Prior project analysis (factor 5) has given three statements 5.547 percent of total variance, 1.276 Eigen, and 0.586 Cronbach Alpha values. Hence, it was concluded that proper prior analysis and estimation of business resources should be done by agripreneurs to manage the agro-enterprise effectively. Controlling business activities (factor 6) obtained the lowest 4.907 percent of total variance with 1.129 Eigen and 0.511 Cronbach Alpha values, and only two statements were loaded under this factor. To increase productivity, agripreneurs must take corrective actions to minimise deviations and errors. Credit facilities (factor 7): only one statement has been loaded under this factor. All of the findings stated above are consistent with the findings of other scholars. All of the findings stated above are consistent with the findings of other scholars [49,50]. According to Jayasudha and Shantha, credit orientation scored the highest factor loading (0.740) among all other factors. The majority of first-generation agripreneurs started their businesses with their own money and with the help of financial institutions. More than half of the respondents (63.5%) rated their credit orientation as medium [63]. Furthermore, one of the studies came to the conclusion that farmers should use a more coordinated management style for their firms, since this will create more jobs as well as improve the overall development of the economy [64]. Furthermore, infrastructure investments such as good roads, electricity, and proper information dissemination to rural areas, as well as an organised structure, were identified as keys to agribusiness success [63]. Overall, all other factors that influence the success of agripreneurs had a significant effect on the profitability and success of the agribusiness.

6. Conclusions

The main objective of the study was to analyse the relationship between different factors such as opportunity scanning, business planning, organising, directing, controlling, and evaluating them in agro-industries considered by first-generation agripreneurs.

In the present research, an effort was made to analyse different activities considered by first generation agripreneurs in managing their business by using factor analysis, and seven factors have been extracted according to the suitability of different statements: effective leadership (factor 1), strategic planning (factor 2), scanning business opportunities (factor 3), organising and business activities (factor 4), prior analysis (factor 5), directing and controlling activities (factor 6).

Effective leadership was deemed the most important factor among the seven, with the highest Cronbach’s alpha of 0.812, implying that it plays a significant role in the success of any enterprise by ensuring a motivated and supportive environment for workers. Strategic planning also played an important role with a 0.658 cronbach value because, to become a successful agripreneur, planning should be done before converting all business activities into action. Another important factor was scanning business opportunities. With a 0.686 Cronbach value, it was determined that a business’s position could be strengthened by considering market research and customer feedback.

The 0.691 Cronbach’s alpha was also influenced by the organisation of business activities. It concluded that for the success and growth of any business, timely procurement and adequate utilisation of input, along with other business activities, must be done by businesses. Another important factor was prior project analysis with a 0.586 Cronbach value, which determined how to manage the agro-enterprise. Proper estimation of business resources must be done by first-generation agripreneurs. With a 0.511 Cronbach value, directing and controlling business activities also played a significant role in the growth of the enterprise. The agripreneurs must take corrective actions to minimise the deviations and errors to increase productivity. For easy and better understanding of the agripreneurs, this research then finally evaluates the seven main factors as well as incorporates the main factors from the sub-factors in such a manner to cover all the statements and elucidate the diverse fields of agribusiness like mushoom cultivation, poultry farming, aquaculture, floriculture, horticulture, beekeeping, organic farming, and dairy farming for a prominent north Indian agricultural and dairy region. This study will not only help the first generation agripreneurs to overcome their shortcomings but also lead to a better and healthier life. Furthermore, it can identify and raise awareness about the critical factors required for the success of any agro-enterprise for the benefit of first-generation agripreneurs as well as the long-term development of agribusiness. The present study contributes in many ways compared to the existing scenario. Firstly, it shows the significant activities and factors of different agribusinesses like mushroom cultivation, poultry farming, aquaculture, floriculture, horticulture, beekeeping, organic farming, and dairy farming to the first generation of agripreneurs in increasing the productivity and selling of agriproducts, as well as the growth and expansion of agribusinesses. Secondly, it helps in the sustainable development of all the above agribusinesses. The first generation of agripreneurs are unaware of the issues affecting their business and family life. They focus primarily on production enhancement and their leadership qualities to improve their business. This paper suggests that young agripreneurs improve their leadership skills through proper training and guidance from experts in their respective fields. The first generation of agripreneurs learns from the experiences shared by them and invites them for lectures. This helps them boost their confidence and develop the leadership qualities they need to sell their products. Some of the first generation agripreneurs were afraid to provide complete information about agribusiness, and some of them were illiterate to answer the research question. We suggest for future research that this study be limited to a single Indian state and a few factors, so to get more accurate and efficient results, detailed analysis should be done in other states as well as other regions of India.