Indian Journal of Agricultural Marketing
Year : 2023, Volume : 37, Issue : 3spl
First page : ( 249) Last page : ( 249)
Print ISSN : 0971-8664. Online ISSN : 2456-8716.

Assessing the impact of farmer producer companies on small and marginal millet farmers in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu

Nandhini S, Sivakumar S.D.

Department of Agricultural and Rural Management, TNAU, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641 003, India

Online published on 18 December, 2023.

Abstract

Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) act as a potential driving force for enhancing small and marginal farmers’ income. The farmer members associated with FPCs have a higher level of income, consumption and investment on farming technologies as they have easy access to credit, storage, input - output markets facilities and recent technology up gradation. The present study investigates the impact of farmer producer companies on small and marginal millet farmers and suggest policy measures at micro and macro level. A cross sectional survey was conducted to collect data from 120 millet farmers, including 60 members and 60 nonmembers from two farmer producer companies in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. This research employed stochastic frontier approach to assess the impact of farmer producer companies on millet farmers. The sample FPCs adopted a strong backward linkage and forward linkages where FPC members realize an increased farm income. The study identified that allied enterprises like livestock and poultry generated additional revenue for producer companies in addition to value-added products. Results from the econometric analysis showed a statistically significant gain in farm income of millet farmers (FPC members) compared to non-members. The members of sample FPCs benefitted through a wide range of services offered by FPCs as compared to non-members but it is not suficient to achieve sustainability.

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