Members’ Intention to Participate in Farmer Producer Company Activities in Cauvery Delta Region of Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Farmer Producer Company(FPC) is one of the tools to tackle the demand-driven market and march towards the development of deprived small and marginal farmers. Members’ active participation in FPC activities is essential to resolve backward and forward linkage issues. Members could easily access speciality markets and obtain better price for agricultural products in the conventional sector, if they consistently participate in FPC activities. The present study applied the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to examine the intention of members to participate in FPC activities. The moderating role of landholdings on the relationship between various TPB factors and farmers' intentions to participate in FPC activities was also studied. The study relied on primary data collected from 382 members from the Cauvery Delta Region of Tamil Nadu using a proportionate random sampling technique. The PLS-SEM results revealed that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control have a significant positive influence on the participation of the members in FPC activities. There is a significant moderating effect of landholding on the relationship between TPB factors and participation intention. The study has put forward the major implication for improving the participation of members in FPC activities.