Role of Knowledge Inequality and Social Entrepreneurship in Agricultural Transformation: Case of Rural South India

Abstract

The importance of knowledge and social entrepreneurship in agriculture is well understood, but little is done to reduce this skill gap among smallholders. This paper studies the role of knowledge inequality and social entrepreneurship in agricultural transformation using the case study of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in South India. We show how adoption of innovation is strongly dependent on the level of knowledge inequality, which in turn is driven by the entrepreneurial capacity of farmers and the level of resource use in society. With primary data from households and through focus group discussions, our analysis shows that knowledge inequality and social entrepreneurship are key factors contributing to productivity differences among farmers, especially when new technologies and techniques need to be adopted. We establish links between knowledge inequality and social entrepreneurship and conclude that for agricultural transformation policymakers need to first increase capacity for social entrepreneurship and then focus on knowledge equality.