Local Food Entrepreneurship in Rural India: Modelling the Challenges

Local food entrepreneurship plays a vital role in promoting and distributing regional foods. To link local food with the market, there is a need to develop local food systems that promote and support local food, its distribution and consumption. Local food entrepreneurs are constrained due to various factors prevailing in the entire rural ecosystem, which hinders their prospects of business expansion. This study focussed on identifying the commercially feasible local food products that can be produced and marketed by local entrepreneurs. Also, this study is an effort towards identifying and analysing the challenges perceived by local food entrepreneurs in rural India. The challenges were identified through a literature review and the personal interviews of the rural entrepreneurs and were then modelled through the DEMATEL (decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory) approach. The modelling of challenges helped in identifying the priority areas, based on which focused strategies were suggested for the promotion of local food entrepreneurs. From this study, it emerged that product quality issues, lack of buyers and inconsistent government policies are the most significant challenges perceived by entrepreneurs. This study also includes resource mapping for the local entrepreneurs to present a comprehensive scenario of the prevailing ecosystem.