What Determines Farmers’ Participation in the Farmer Producer Organizations: Empirical Evidence from India

Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) are seen as an effective way to mobilize small and marginal farmers and overcome the problems associated with small holdings. The success of FPOs is constrained by various individual, social, environmental, and organizational factors, among which low level of farmers’ participation is important. An increasing number of FPOs in the country suggests that more small farmers join FPOs, but little evidence is available regarding their participation in the activities of FPOs and their determinants. We examined these aspects empirically, by interviewing ۲۰۰ members of FPOs from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states of India, considering both member-related and organizational factors. Ordinal logit regression results showed that individual-related factors like education, access to formal credit, and training attended had a significant positive relationship with the participation of farmers in the overall activities of the FPOs. Farmers’ participation was also affected by technical and organizational rationalities that are to be addressed by the FPOs. Heterogeneity in determinants of participation in different activities like meetings, financial matters, and decision-making was observed. The study suggests that both member characteristics and FPO characteristics need to be taken into account to ensure the high participation of farmers in FPO activities.

Keywords:

Determinants , Level of participation , Ordinal Logit Regression , Small and marginal farmers.