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