Abstract
Entrepreneurship is a crucial driver of growth in the economy. The current study employed a design based on ex-post facto research among the highest potato-producing districts in northeast Indian states, comprising Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland. It includes the economics of potato cultivation, disclosing productivity variations and income across the states. Multistage sampling was followed to select eight blocks, sixteen villages and 480 respondents for data collection using a pre-tested interview schedule. The results indicated the outperformance of Tripura among others in potato productivity, and most potato growers belonged to the age group (35–55 years), with males constituting slightly over half of the population, and medium-sized (4–7 members) families. A substantial portion of the population had completed higher secondary education, while illiteracy rates remained noteworthy. Entrepreneurial tendencies among farmers revealed a moderate level of engagement, where 16.9% exhibited a high level of entrepreneurial behaviour, and 3.5% were concerned with potato farming. Regarding economic motivation and risk management ability, analyses proved that 13.5% and 9.6% displayed high entrepreneurial behaviour. Concerning the scientific orientation in entrepreneurial behaviour, 77.7% of farmers revealed a medium, followed by 12.9% with a high and 10.4% with a low level. Most (86.2%) farmers had a medium risk management ability. The investigation utilized multiple regression analysis to elucidate the intricate relationships between key variables and entrepreneurial behaviour, and the analytical variables productivity, knowledge, size of land holding, area under potato, annual income, sources of information and marketing channel had a positive and significant association with entrepreneurship. Principal component analysis revealed that decision-making ability, achievement motivation, innovativeness and management orientation were the top contributors in deciding the entrepreneurial behaviour of potato farmers.
