Fostering Entrepreneurship And Supply Chain In Agri-Business In The Farming Community To Achieve Sustainable Rural Development In Namseling, Bhutan

Abstract

This research paper aims to conduct the exploration into the effects of entrepreneurial development which will contribute towards the rural development through empowerment of farming community particularly women & integrating them into the value chain, in the context of rural Bhutan, which would play a central role in fostering entrepreneurship development, providing employment and reducing poverty. This work focusses on the current efforts in fostering greater entrepreneurship among farming community by improving their standard of living in order to achieve sustainable rural development. Collective action through farmers’ groups is increasingly being recognized as a positive force for rural development in the Western part of Bhutan (Namseling). The present study describes an assessment of the perception of smallholder farmers’ groups in the western regions of Bhutan who are cultivating chilli (Ema) and are willing to add value to the basic ingredients by turning it into a finished product “Ezay” (ཨེ་རྫས།) and directly selling it to the market. The data were collected from 100 respondents through a structured questionnaire survey by using a Likert-type rating scale which is supplemented by open participatory group discussions. The limited group capacity, poor sense of ownership and inactive participation by the members, heavy dependence on government support, dispersed location and complacent members’ attitude were found affecting performance of farmers.