Entrepreneurial skills and farming performance: Implications for improving banana farming in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Banana farming in Sri Lanka has been identified as a potential alternative sub-sector to make dynamism in the rural economy. However, this sector still remains predominantly traditional in most parts of the country. As such, it was identified that the attention of researchers should be granted for collecting evidence-based suggestions to make this sector more dynamic in the economy. This paper examined the relationship between entrepreneurial skills of banana farmers and their farmer performance using entrepreneurial skill variables of farmers and farmer performance variables namely profitability, financial performance, marketing orientation and productivity. Finally, the study found that collective action and cooperation, readiness to change and innovativeness, and visionary and profit oriented nature had a significant association with the farmer performance factors. The strongest relationships remain between collective action and cooperation, readiness to change, innovativeness and the farm productivity. Therefore, it is recommended to use these variables as the policy variables that can activate this alternative subsector of the rural economy.