Group Dynamics and Team Effectiveness of Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPO): An Empirical Study in Assam, India | Chapter 7 | New Advances in Business, Management and Economics Vol. 12

 

Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) is a legal entity formed by farmers with a major role in integrating both forward and backward linkages in the agricultural sector for enhancing farmers' income and their livelihoods through reduced cultivation and transaction costs. While Group dynamics is a field of enquiry concerned with extending knowledge about the nature of groups, their development, and their interrelationships with individuals, other groups and institutions. Group dynamics as a subject of study has its roots in both psychology and sociology. The present research is intended to critically examine certain important indicators of group dynamics and their influence on team effectiveness in Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPO) settings. The study was conducted in the Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone (LBVZ) of Assam by utilising the descriptive research design and an ex-post-facto approach to fulfil the objectives of the study and to collect the cross-sectional data from 120 FPO member respondents through the personal interview method during 2022. The study reveals that the majority of the FPO members had a medium level of group dynamics effectiveness in all 12 indicators. The study also shows that among the identified 12 indicators to measure group dynamic effectiveness (GDE) of FPO, group atmosphere was found with the highest mean value, closely followed by teamwork, participation and group cohesiveness. The other indicators in order of importance based on their corresponding mean values were achievement of FPO, confirmation to group norms, task function, decision making procedure, interpersonal trust, empathy and group communication. As many as 70 per cent members of FPO in study areas had reported a medium level of achievement of FPO, still there is a huge scope for their further improvement and achievement in agriculture and allied activities, and thereby enhance their income on a sustainable basis. The study further reveals that Manikpur Joha Rice Producer Company Ltd. of Chirang district had the highest total GDEI score of 91.027. While Aya Baikho FPO Co-operative Society Ltd. of Goalpara district had the lowest GDEI score of 60.441. To build a prosperous and sustainable agriculture sector by promoting and supporting member-owned Producer Organisations, which enable farmers to enhance productivity and sustainable income generation, it is of paramount importance for cost-effective and sustainable resource use to realise higher returns for their produce, through collective actions including extension programmes supported by the government, research agencies, civil society and the private sector.

 

 

Author(s) Details

Amrita Singha
District Agricultural Office, Nagaon, Govt. of Assam, India.

 

J.K. Sharma
Horticultural Research Station, Kahikuchi, Assam Agricultural University, India.

 

A.K. Singha
ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone-VII, Umiam, Meghalaya, India.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nabme/v12/6942

Demographic Profile, Group Dynamics Effectiveness and Constraints of Farmer-Producer Organisations (FPOs) Members in Assam, India| Chapter 6 | New Advances in Business, Management and Economics Vol. 12

 

India, a developing country heavily reliant on the agricultural sector, has witnessed the emergence of farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) as a vital tool to promote agricultural commercialisation, foster economic growth, improve farmers' socio-economic status, and enable small and marginal farmers to access organised value chains, strengthen their bargaining power, and mitigate market risks. The present study was conducted to investigate the demographic profile of FPOs members, their effectiveness in group dynamics and their perceived constraints in the Lower Brahmaputra Valley Zone (LBVZ) of Assam, comprising six districts viz., Kamrup, Bongaigaon, Nalbari, Chirang, Barpeta and Goalpara. In doing so, it utilised the descriptive research design following an ex-post-facto approach to fulfil the objectives of the study. A total of eight FPOs promoted by Assam Agricultural University through CBBO-AAU and World Bank-supported APART project were selected purposively. From each FPO, 15 active members were approached for data collection through a personal interview method during 2022, which made 120 the final sample size. The data were statistically analysed in terms of mean, standard deviation (SD), and coefficient of variation (CV). The analysis of profile characteristics of the respondents revealed that majority of the respondents (FPOs members) in study areas were middle aged (66.67%) between 29 to 50 years with education level from high school to graduate/ above (80.83%), 64.17 percent were from small family size upto 4 members, 90.83 percent of the respondents had medium level of annual income (i.e. Rs 33190-379866.6), 46.67 percent had medium level of socio- political participation and 38.33 percent low and 35.83 percent high levels of material possession. The study also found that lack of co-ordination for different group activities, ineffective linkage and ineffective monitoring, lack of professional management, non-availability of timely credit and inadequate access to credit, weak financial position, absence of adequate market linkage, lack of storage facilities, distance from existing markets, lack of market information, lack of marketing knowledge and skills and difficulty in getting skilled labour were the perceived problems faced by FPO members in effective functioning of FPOs. The study highlights current challenges within the FPO system, suggesting policy recommendations for future development. The findings also offer valuable insights into the transformative potential of FPOs and inform strategic policy recommendations to ensure their sustainability in India's agricultural sector. There is an urgent need to train those involved in FPO management or establish requirements for FPO office bearers, since the primary limitation on the operations of FPOs is inadequate professional management. This will support efficient FPO management. To enable FPO members and office bearers to make appropriate and timely choices, a suitable capacity-building approach should be used by the concerned departments.

 

 

Author(s) Details

Amrita Singha
District Agricultural Office, Nagaon, Govt. of Assam, India.

 

J.K. Sharma
Horticultural Research Station, Kahikuchi, Assam Agricultural University, India.

 

A.K. Singha
ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Zone-VII, Umiam, Meghalaya, India.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nabme/v12/6941

Diversity of Fish Parasites in Assam: Discovery and Description of a New Procamallanus Species Infecting Ailia coila |Chapter 10 | Research Perspective on Biological Science Vol. 2

Assam, located in northeast India, is home to rich aquatic resources that sustain local fisheries and contribute significantly to food security and livelihoods. However, fish populations in the region are often hosts to various parasites, impacting both aquatic health and public well-being. This study focuses on helminth parasites affecting fish species in the Barak Valley, Assam, particularly the nematodes of the genus Procamallanus. During an extensive parasitological survey, a new species of nematode, Procamallanus (Spirocamallanus) ailiosus n. sp. was discovered in Ailia coila from the Barak River. Morphological analysis was conducted using light microscopy, revealing distinguishing characteristics such as a barrel-shaped buccal capsule with unequal cuticular expansion, 9–10 spiral ridges, and a uniquely structured caudal region. Males exhibited 13 pairs of caudal papillae and a single spicule, while females displayed post-equatorial vulvae with embryonated eggs. The species was compared to existing Procamallanus members, highlighting key morphological distinctions from closely related taxa such as P. (S.) nainitalensis and P. gomtii. Prevalence, abundance, mean density, and infection indices were calculated, with a prevalence rate of 50% in the examined fish. The findings underscore the importance of studying fish parasites in Assam, given their ecological and economic implications. This newly described species expands the knowledge of helminth biodiversity and highlights the necessity of sustainable fisheries management. Further research is required to assess the pathogenic impact of P. (S.) ailiosus n. sp. on local fish populations and its potential consequences for human health.

 

Author (s) Details

 

Keisham Lebanan
Department of Life Science, Rabindranath Tagore University, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

 

Naorem Mohilal
Department of Zoology, Manipur University, Manipur, India.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/rpbs/v2/5057

Social, Cultural and Educational Evolution of Kaibarta Community in Assam | Chapter 4 | Current Progress in Arts and Social Studies Research Vol. 8

Assam is one of the old states of India. This region marked by significant ethnic diversity, has historically encompassed a blend of tribal and non-tribal communities, contributing to a complex social landscape. It is to be noted that the non-tribal category is included into three major groups such as the General Caste, the Scheduled Castes (SC) and the Other Backward Classes (OBC). There are sixteen SC, twenty seven Scheduled Tribes (ST) and twenty nine OBC communities listed in Assam. The people of all communities are peace loving and are focused on maintaining social peace and harmony in the region. They have moved away more or less from their traditional social lifestyle. The members of the Kaibarta community play a very important role in the overall development of Assam. The traditional culture and heritage of the Kaibarta community are rich and significant. The present study is an attempt to discuss the social, cultural and educational Evolution of the Kaibarta community in Assam. The secondary data were collected from both government and non-government publications. In order to achieve the objective of the present study, the descriptive research method was used in this work. The findings revealed that in spite of having a huge potential for development, most of the people of the Kaibarta community have remained backward even after seventy-three years of independence of the country. By now it is almost clear that the Kaibarta community in the state is faced with different social, cultural, and economic problems for development.

 

Author (s) Details

Poli Konwar
Department of Education, Gargaon College, Simaluguri Sivasagar, Assam, India.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/cpassr/v8/3354

Occupational Mobility among Two Kaivartta (Fisherman Community) Populated Village in Majuli Island, India | Chapter 8 | Recent Research Advances in Arts and Social Studies Vol. 8

Kaivarttas are one of the major fishing communities of Assam. The origin and migration of the Kaivarttas to the river island is still shrouded with mystery. In the last few decades, the processes like globalization of marketing, liberalization of different policies and privatization of education have changed the life style of the Kaivarttas, not only in an urban area but village too. Present study is undertaken into two Kaivartta populated village in Majuli Island to understand the occupational mobility among them. The concept “Occupational mobility” comes into existence in the field of Sociology that refers the process of movement from one occupational category to another. Now, Kaivarttas are engaged in different areas occupations including government, private and entrepreneurial works. As the occupation is closely interrelated with socio-economic and cultural factors, therefore, it is important to make a study to understand their adoption of new occupation in response to the process of social change. Primary data are collected through structured interview schedule through survey whereas Books, Journals, Government records and census are used as secondary data. It has been observed that external forces that are creating barriers and forcing the villagers to shift themselves to some other occupations i.e. low profit margin of fish trading more particularly during summer seasons, dwindling of sources of fish since most of beels and fisheries have been taken over by Government and the terms and conditions of the Leaseholders (Mahalders) are not satisfactory, negative attitude of society towards fish selling etc. The study shows that most of the villagers have taken up new occupations rather than fishing.

Author(s) Details:

Nabin Chandra Das,
187 No Chamaguri Koibartta LPS, Majuli, Assam, India.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/RRAASS-V8/article/view/14257

An Overview of the Diversity of Aquatic Insects in Assam, North-East India | Chapter 6 | Emerging Issues in Environment, Geography and Earth Science Vol. 7

India is one of the world's mega-biodiversity hotspot nations. The country is one of the world's 17 Mega biodiverse countries, accounting for 7-8% of all documented species. A class of arthropods known as aquatic insects can be found on or on the surface of lacustrine or riverine ecosystems where they complete their life cycle in water bodies. Eight main insect orders live their whole lives in the freshwater habitat. Aquatic insects are a taxonomically varied, ecologically significant, and fascinating collection of creatures found in Lentic freshwater systems. They are recognised to play an important role in nutrient processing and cycling since they are classified as shredders, filter feeders, deposit collectors, and predators. The functioning of aquatic ecosystems is greatly influenced by aquatic insects. The current study aims to examine the relative abundance of insects in various microhabitats of the study site Assam and the North Eastern States of India. A significant diversity of aquatic insects, which is indicative of the strength and abundance of the aquatic ecosystem, may be found in the northeastern section of India and various parts of Assam. In most of the research sites, it was discovered from the entire study that insects from the orders Odonata, Hemiptera, and Coleoptera were most prevalent, followed by those from the orders Diptera and Ephemeroptera. The order Coleoptera accounted for 59% of all known aquatic insect species. The studied locations are discovered to have the least number of insects from the Orders Plecoptera, Trichoptera, Hymenoptera, and Collembola. In Northeast India and several parts of Assam, there were no records of aquatic insects from the Orders Neuroptera/Megaloptera and Lepidoptera.

Author(s) Details:

Danswrang Basumatary,
Department of Zoology, Kokrajhar Govt. College, Kokrajhar, Assam, India.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/EIEGES-V7/article/view/13338

Ant Fauna of Assam A Case Study at Gauhati University Campus, Guwahati, Kamrup, Assam | Book Publisher International

Ants are the most abundant and successful organisms in the world. They attract human attention for their fascinating teamwork, disciplined movement, division of labor, selfless service to colony members, painful stinging, and unwanted presence in household items. They are the intelligent invertebrates that had initiated the practice of farming of fungi millions of years before human arrival, could build well-protected nests and territoriality, developed collective skills of foraging and mutualistic relationships with hemipteran insects for nutritional rewards, etc. In terrestrial ecosystems, ants play many vital roles that determine the health of the ecosystem as many other fauna and flora are directly or indirectly dependent on the ant community. The rapid changes in forest cover, land patterns, climatic conditions, etc., and over-dependency on pesticides and fertilizers impact on the ant community and diversity. Therefore, it is imperative to study this most dominant fauna at current times at least to document their present status and also to understand the health of the ecosystem and generate baseline information. The state of Assam in India is a part of the Eastern Himalaya biodiversity hotspot of the world but only a few studies on ant fauna have been carried out till now from this part. The existing checklist of ant species in Assam shows the presence of 217 species of ants under 58 genera. However, a detailed study of these ant species is needed. Gauhati University campus, Guwahati, Assam, offers a meeting place of different habitats viz. dense and fringed forests, hilly areas, natural and man-made wetlands, open plain fields, and undulating hilly terrain, grassland, cultivated area, protected botanical garden, human settlement area with concrete and Assam type buildings where chances of occurrence of diverse ant species are more. Hence this area is selected for the case study of ant fauna and recorded the presence of 41 species of ants that account for 18.89% of the total species recorded from the state. In the first chapter along with the general introduction about ants, we describe these 41 species of ants mentioning their morphological characteristics, feeding and nesting habitats, pest/predator status, and distribution.

Ants are generally avoided by predators for their equipped defensive strategies. Ant-mimicking spiders mimic ants morphologically to get protection from predators in one way and deceive their prey in another way. They chemically mimic ants to get constant resources and protection in the stable microhabitat that is the ant’s nest. As of now, a total of 13 families of spiders are known to show myrmecomorphy of which the majority of the myrmecomorphic spiders belong to Salticidae and Clubionidae families. Many species of the genus Myrmarachne of the Salticidae family show ant-like appearance with elongated bodies and narrow anterior abdominal parts giving the apparent shape of the petiole of ants.  Mostly the ant species belonging to the sub-families Formicinae, Myrmicinae, Ponerinae, Pseudomyrmecinae, and Dolichoderinae are used as model organisms by different spider species. Some of the mimicry is highly species-specific and some are general. In the second chapter of the book, we discuss the myrmecomorphic spiders and their model ants. Studies about ant-mimicking spiders and their association with the model ants in India are still scanty. On the campus of Gauhati University, we encountered 10 ant-mimicking spiders which show morphological resemblance with different model ants present on the campus. Of the recorded myrmecomorphs, six species are under the genus Myrmarachne, and one species each from the genera Myrmaplata, Toxeus, Cambalida, and Apochinoma.

Many ant species are often seen visiting flowers. But whether they perform a pollination role has long been a topic of debate. A school of scientists opined that ants are poor pollinators as their body morphology, behavior, and chemical profile are against successful pollen transfer and pollen viability. Rather ants’ presence deters other potential pollinators from flowers. Another group of researchers claims that the flower-visiting ants only ward off inefficient pollinators, not the efficient ones. At the same time, in arid and semi-arid zones where winged pollinating insects are minimal or absent, certain ant species solely perform the role of pollination. In the third chapter, we discuss the flower-visiting ants and their functional roles in pollination based on existing literature. A list of flower-visiting ants recorded on the campus of Gauhati University is also presented.

Overall, these three chapters give a comprehensive idea about the ants of Assam, ant-mimicking spiders and their model ants, and the functional role of ants in pollination particularly in the context of the selected study site.

Author(s) Details:

Bulbuli Khanikor,
Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati-781014, Assam, India.

Hridisha Nandana Hazarika,
Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati-781014, Assam, India.

Jitumoni Das,
Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati-781014, Assam, India.

Dipamani Sarma,
Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, Guwahati-781014, Assam, India.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/AFAACSGUCGKA/article/view/11908