The main objective of this paper is to explore the business model of farmers involved in organic farming and to motivate the society for entering into organic farming business as it is environment friendly and healthy for consumers as well. The methodology used for this research was mainly interviews conducted by farmers of Punjab district of Pakistan. YouTube videos on organic farming in Pakistan were also assessed for gaining more knowledge. From the findings of interviews, a business model used by 05 farmers in production of organic products is explored which was an untapped area in previous research. The contribution of this research is that components of business model canvas used by farmers are explored, and regulatory bodies of the agriculture sector can design policies for the development of organic agriculture in Pakistan. The novelty of this research is that a business model of companies which are producing organic products is studied, however, a business model of organic farming still needs to be explored which is currently attempted. Farmers think that organic farming is a very lengthy and time-consuming process, but they are not aware of the fact that this is the healthiest, environmentally friendly and profitable business. So, this research has covered such aspects which can motivate farmers and even entrepreneurs to enter into organic farming sustainable business to create better income earning opportunities.
Keywords
organic farming, business model, semi-structured interviews, netnography, Pakistan
Author Bio(s)
Shahjahan Sarfraz Raja is a Ph.D. Scholar at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia. He has earned his master’s of business administration degree from University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. He has eleven and half years of banking experience at managerial positions. He served almost twenty years in HEC recognized academic as well as having experience of nineteen years in running personal academic institutions. His area of interest is economics, finance, banking, management, and socio-economic development. He is interested to eradicate poverty from his country Pakistan by providing income earning opportunities for those who do not have income. Please direct correspondence to shahjahansarfrazraja@gmail.com.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Valliappan Raju is a Senior Lecturer at Centre of Post Graduate Studies and Professional Development at Limkokwing University, Malaysia. He has earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) and Doctorate in Business Administration D, Malaysia and Master of Business Administration degree from International Management Institute, Brussels as a twinning program of IIPM, India in the year 2005. He received his “Associate Professorship” in the year 2015 and got appointed as “Adjunct Professor” in Linton University College for contributing in Artificial Intelligence researches. He is currently teaching Advanced Research Methodology to PhD students; Marketing Management and Strategic Management to Master degree students. Among several students under his doctoral supervision and has graduated 11 PhD graduates from Limkokwing University as of 2018. He has published 70+ publications in International refereed journals and presented several papers at Conferences. He has more than 40 research papers published in SCOPUS / ISI indexed journals as principal author. Assoc. Prof. Vally is an active member of World Economics Association (WEA) since 2017 and also holds corporate membership in Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM). He is on the editorial board and reviewer of numerous high impact factor journals and Scopus Indexed journals. Please direct correspondence to valliappan.raju@limkokwing.edu.my.
Dr. Fozia Malik (Corresponding Author) is working as an Assistant Professor in department of business administration at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi Pakistan. She has 18 years teaching experience at university level. She has worked as a marketing and HR consultant/trainer. Her research papers are published in the areas of marketing, human resource management and psychology. She is also working as a reviewer with international journals. She is supervising marketing and human resource management research thesis from last 18 years. Her area of interest is marketing, psychology, and human resource management. Please direct correspondence to drfmalik@fjwu.edu.pk.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the respondents for providing their valuable time and cooperation during interview sessions. Without their willing participation and interest in the topic, this research would not have been possible.
Raja, S. S.,
Raju, V.,
&
Malik, F.
(2021).
Exploring a Business Model of Organic Farming through Qualitative Approach.
The Qualitative Report,
26(8), 2648-2667.
https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2021.4875
