The need for rural entrepreneurship

N Joyson Tao *

A Manipuri entrepreneur preparing a handloom item at a stall during the inaugural day of the Ecocrafts Exhibition (under AHVY) at NEDFi Haat, Guwahati : Pix - Shyam

Rural Entrepreneurship is based on stimulating local entrepreneurial talent and the subsequent growth of indigenous enterprises. It recog- nizes opportunity in the rural areas and accelerate a unique blend of resources either inside or outside of agriculture. Rural entrepreneurship brings about an economic value to the rural sector by creating new methods of production, new products, new markets, and generate employment opportunities thereby ensuring continuous rural development.

From the state's socio-economic point of view: The majority of the state's poor live in rural areas but policies continue to be biased in favour of urban development. As such, there is just little hope for the rural poor- the very people for whom development is really needed. These poor souls continue to invest their labour in the same 'stone age' method of cultivation which has no contribution to their economic development.

This means those who have nothing to sell but their hard labour remain in the weakest link. Reducing imbalance in development is indispensable to achieve resilient economic growth for a state like Manipur. Hence, it is vital for the government to keep in mind that if there is inequity in development, the detrimental effects will cause trouble both for rural and urban economy.

From the policy point of view: The state continues to stand as one of the least developed states in India with a crack-pot economy whereby center government aid and special grants remain the main core of development. The state is unable to cut down its dependence on aid and grants. Instead, the dependence is growing every year.

This shed light upon us that the state government follows a development model that is easily corruptible and far from sustainable. Dambisa Moyo, in his book 'Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working' mentioned, "official aid is easy money that fosters corruption and distorts economies. It creates a culture of dependency and economic stagnation."

Although there are national agricultural policies like price subsidies or loan subsidies to foster expansion and promotion of rural agricultural enterprises and farm related business, in reality these policies are rarely in application and appear only on paper.

For example, the National Agriculture Policy or the Prime Minister Employment Guarantee Programme aims to strengthen rural infrastructure and support faster development through capital inflow. Primary objective of such programmes is to promote value addition and accelerate the growth of rural enterprises. They aim to create employment opportunities in rural areas, secure a fair standard of living among the rural population and attain growth with equity- a growth that is sustainable environmentally and economically. However, there is hardly any growth of such nature in rural areas of Manipur.

Furthermore, it will be wrong to assume that rural economy can be transformed by injecting external funds and by bringing in human capital investment from outside. The truth is without the presence of entrepreneurial capacities among the rural population, external funds will not provide long term economic growth. Instead of becoming more economically integrated, rural areas will become increasingly isolated, poorer and therefore the possibility of attracting external investment will decline.

To facilitate critical success factors of rural economy, rural entrepreneurs can play a vital role. By pulling together available resources, rural entrepreneurs can engage in new ventures and create values for rural production. They can create avenues for new employment among rural population by setting up rural-based enterprises thus diversifying the sources of income for the locals which in turn enhance the monetary economy of the rural sector.

However, for entrepreneurship to flourish in the tribal belt, the state government must create a supportive environment conducive for rural entrepreneurs. Sound economic policy with respect to rural economy including recognition of the vital contribution of entrepreneurship to rural economy, and development of local business opportunities must be instilled. Capable rural entrepreneurs must be encouraged and recognized. Only then, entrepreneurial culture can come to exist in the rural areas.