Nurturing Agri-Entrepreneurs: Syngenta Foundation India’s Vehicle for Sustainable Livelihood

Sushmita Srivastava, Akansha Misra

Product #:W43433

Supplier:Ivey

Discipline:General Management, Sustainability

Setting:India, 2023

Details:Case (PDF) • 17 pages • 2025-06-20

Subjects:

Geography:

India Asia

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Bhawna Nirmal—head of business development at the Agri-Entrepreneur Growth Foundation, the agri-entrepreneur (AE) program of Syngenta Foundation India (SFI)—was responsible for training 100,000 eligible AEs by 2030, up from the 11,000 active AEs in May 2023. But in a recent critical project, there were challenges in achieving the number of AEs trained by the targeted date. SFI usually expedited the selection process to achieve project-level milestones, but this could have resulted in AEs with poor-quality work who ultimately dropped out, became inactive, had unsatisfactory on-site performance, or became commercially inclined over time. The central question Nirmal faced was whether she should change the structure of the program or compromise on the target.

Learning Objectives

The case can be taught in elective courses on sustainable development, agribusiness management, social entrepreneurship, or agri-entrepreneurship. Lessons can focus on understanding how to develop AEs to reduce poverty among small and marginal farmers. The case can also be used in courses dealing with the sustainability of AE training programs. Upon completing the case and its accompanying assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:

Explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the AE program in a developing country landscape.
Assess the efficacy of the AE program in developing AEs.
Use the Social Enterprise Spectrum to identify where a social enterprise falls along the philanthropy-commercial spectrum.
Critically evaluate the difference between training and mentorship in social sector projects and corporate set-ups.
Analyze a decision maker’s dilemma in social sector projects (funded by partner organizations) on whether to restructure the program or compromise on the project targets.