12 Climate-Smart Agriculture Diffusion within Smallholder Agriculture Context: The Role of Business Models of Sustainable Entrepreneurs

Abstract

Climate-smart agriculture technological innovations (CSATIs) provide needed benefits within base-of-the-pyramid (BoP) contexts, where smallholder farmers are vulnerable to climate change. Yet, the diffusion of CSATIs is slowed by a range of barriers. Sustainable entrepreneurs can be catalysts for the enhanced diffusion of CSATIs. The business models they use drive their ability to diffuse CSATIs. While there is a good understanding of the role of business models in the diffusion of agri-technology in Western and developed economies, their role in BoP settings is less understood. This chapter takes an in-depth qualitative approach to explore factors that shape the ability of business models used by sustainable entrepreneurs to diffuse CSATIs within BoP contexts.The results indicate that adjustments to current business models could enhance the diffusion of CSATIs. While most sustainable entrepreneurs who participated in this study agree on the shortcomings of their current business models, they differed in how they addressed these shortcomings.