Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis for Farmer Companies to Re-emerge as Social Business Models in Sri Lanka: A Case Study in Ridebendiela Farmer Company

The study objective was to carry-out strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threat (SWOT) analysis for one of the initial farmer company (FC) established in Sri Lanka. The study was conducted in Ridebendiela FC (RFC) in Kurunegala district in Sri Lanka between the periods of March, 2011 – March, 2012 (one year). Primary data was collected from 70 shareholders (SHs) by using a pre-tested questionnaire. And informal discussions were also held with FC personnel. The secondary data were collected from FC reports, books, journals and internet. The generated data were analysed using SPSS version 17. The results from the study identified specific strengths and weaknesses, which are generated within FC and opportunities and threats, which are originated externally. Certain strengths such as availability of pool of physical and human capital, and some opportunities such as already established business relationships will be helpful for the company’s performance. On the other hand, certain weaknesses such as lack of entrepreneurial competencies of the management and threats such as government policy changes are hindering FC performance as a social business (SB) It is recommended that the establishment of external body equipped with good entrepreneurial skills in order to monitor, evaluate and take corrective measures with respective to negative attributes will help in the sustainability of the farmer's company. Also, a longitudinal study about the company will be important to learn lessons from the past, which could be used for future prospect.