FACTORS DETERMINING THE MEMBERSHIP OF FARMERS IN FARMER PRODUCER ORGANISATIONS (FPO) IN TAMIL NADU

E. MONIKA¹*, M. THILAGAVATHI², M. PRAHADEESWARAN³, M.R. DURAISAMY^4
1Department of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
²Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
³Department of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
⁴Professor and Head, Department of Physical Sciences and Information Technology, Agricultural Engineering College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
* Corresponding Author : monikae1804@gmail.com

Received : 02-01-2021     Accepted : 26-01-2021     Published : 30-01-2021
Volume : 13     Issue : 1       Pages : 10570 - 10573
Int J Agr Sci 13.1 (2021):10570-10573

Keywords : Membership, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Logit model
Academic Editor : Dr Vipul N Kapadia
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : Authors are thankful to Department of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641 003, Tamil Nadu, India
Author Contribution : All authors equally contributed

Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) has emerged as a viable institutional form for addressing the major challenges faced by the small and marginal farmers. The central government had been taking several measures to vigorously increase the number of FPOs in the country. But these measures by the government will become meaningless if farmers did not take the membership. Therefore, in order to ensure the membership of farmers and sustainability of FPOs, there is a need to identify the factors influencing membership of farmers in the FPOs. With this aim, the present study was carried out in Erode district of Tamil Nadu. A total of 180 respondents comprising of ninety member and ninety non-member farmers was selected by multistage purposive cum random sampling. A pre tested interview schedule was employed for data collection. The binary logistic regression was carried out to determine the factors influencing farmers’ membership in the FPOs. The results showed that education, number of dependents, credit availed per year, on-farm income, extension agency contact and membership in other organization or association or groups were found to have a significant influence on the membership of farmers in the FPOs. Except number of dependents and credit availed per year, the other variables are found to have a positive influence on the membership. The study concludes that farmers’ membership in FPOs can be improved by increasing their on-farm income through improved technologies, organizing farmers into farmers’ interest groups or farmers associations and by ensuring maximum participation of farmers in the extension activities taken by the governmental or non-governmental organizations

1. Agriculture Census Division (2019) All India Report on Number and Area of Operational Holdings, Agricultural Census 2015-16. Government of India, New Delhi.
2. Mercoiret M.R. and Mfou’ou J.M. (2006) Rural Producer Organizations (RPOs), empowerment of farmers and results of collective action, Workshop on Rural Producer Organizations in Paris, World Bank, Oct, 30-31.
3. Hedge N.G. (2010) Financing Agriculture, 42(7), 26-28.
4. Verma S., Sonkar V.K., Kumar A. and Roy D. (2019) Agricultural Economics Research Review, 32, 123-137.
5. Penrose-Buckley C. (2007) Producer organisations: A practical guide to developing collective rural enterprises, Oxfam.
6. Singh S. (2008) Economic and political weekly, 22-4.
7. SFAC (2019) Strategy Paper for promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), New Delhi.
8. Mariano M.J., Villano R. and Fleming E. (2012) Agricultural Systems, 110, 41-53.
9. Etwire P.M., Dogbe W., Wiredu A.N., Martey E., Etwire E., Owusu R.K. and Wahaga E. (2013) Journal of Economics and Sustainable Development, 4(10), 36-43.
10. Omotesho K.F., Ogunlade I., Lawal M.A. and Kehinde F.B. (2016) Journal of Agricultural Faculty of Gaziosmanpasa, 33(3), 21-7.
11. Datta P., Datta J. and Shil S. (2018) South Asian Journal of Social Studies and Economics, 1-6.
12. Ekepu D., Tirivanhu P. and Nampala P. (2017) South African Journal of Agricultural Extension, 45(1), 118-30.
13. Suvedi M., Ghimire R. and Kaplowitz M. (2017) The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 23(4), 351-71.