Browsing by Author "Mercykutty, M J"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11

Analysis of development propgrammes for paddy promotion under decentralized planning in Thrissur distict
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2017) Salpriya Seby; Mercykutty, M J
Analysis of transfer of technology with respect to biofertiliser
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 1997) Mercykutty, M J; Ranjan S Karippai
The study was undertaken in selected three panchayaths of Thrissur district to analyse the transfer of technology with respect to biofertilisers. The sample selected for the study included 150 farmers, 30 scientists and 30 extension personnel. The study revealed that the majority of the farmer respondents belonged to low category in their distribution based on the 17 selected independent variables. It was found that the evaluative perception on the feasibility of biofertiliser technology was medium in case of all the respondent categories viz., farmers, scientists and extension personnel. Regarding the extent of adoption of biofertiliser technology, poor adoption was observed. Among the selected independent variables, age, education, farming experience, extension participation, risk orientation and accessibility to sales point were found significant in predicting the maximum variation in the extent of adoption of biofertiliser technology. The highest direct and indirect effect on extent of adoption of biofertiliser was due to extension participation. Different constraints experienced at different levels of transfer of technology were identified. Inadequate awareness and lack of technical knowledge on biofertiliser were found to be the most important client system constraints. Effect of unfavourable soil and climatic condition and inadequate awareness and lack of technical knowledge on biofertiliser were found to be the most important research system and extension system constraints respectively. The most important constraint experienced in support and service system was lack of interest on the part of dealer. Perceived incompatibility of the technology and lack of technical knowledge about the technology were found to be the most important reason for non – adoption of the technology. The study drew attention to the emergent need of effective measures to overcome the prevailing constraints in the transfer of biofertiliser technology so as to enhance this eco – friendly farming strategy.
Cause-consequence analysis of conversion of paddy fields in Kuttanad
(Department of Agricultural extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2002) Mercykutty, M J; Rajan Karippai, S
Digital technologies for transforming agriculture : Prospects and challenges
(Department of Agriculture Extension, College of Horticulture, Kerala Agricultural University, 2020) Rashida, V K; Mercykutty, M J
Dynamics of women leadership in local self government for agricultural development of Kerala
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2025-09-09) Bhavana Sajeev; Mercykutty, M J
Local government system has existed in India in every phase of its history. The National Policy on the Empowerment of Women of 2001 and National Policy for Women of 2016 were the cardinal initiatives taken by the Government of India for accelerating the pace of women empowerment. According to the population census of 2011 women constitute 52.03 per cent of the population of Kerala and the state hold pride in attaining and maintaining highest sex ratio of 1084 females per thousand males. Moving one more step forward from the provision of 33.33 per cent reservation as per the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, Kerala assembly has passed two bills namely Kerala Panchayati Raj (2nd Amendment) Bill and Kerala Municipality Amendment Bill in 2009 reserving 50 per cent seats in local bodies and panchayats for women. Given this substantial increase in women representation, it becomes essential to examine how these elected women representatives (EWRs) are contributing to Kerala’s agricultural development. In this background the present study has been formulated as a comprehensive investigation into the leadership roles of EWRs in gender responsive development, the determinants shaping their leadership performance, the empowerment of women farmers and agricultural development, the challenges encountered by EWRs in decentralised planning, and the formulation of strategies to strengthen inclusive governance and advance gender equity. A multi stage random sampling design was employed in which one district each was selected randomly from the five agro climatic zones of Kerala. The districts selected were Kasaragod, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, and Alappuzha from Northern zone, Central zone, Southern zone, High Range zone and Special zone on Problem area respectively. Three agriculturally predominant block panchayats in terms of cropping intensity were selected from each district and further two gram panchayats were selected based on the same criteria from each block panchayat. Four EWRs from each gram panchayat and six EWRs from block panchayat and district panchayat of each selected district were selected by following probability proportionate random sampling making the sample size of EWRs 150. Also, eight women farmers were selected randomly from each of the women headed wards of gram panchayat as another category of respondents making the total sample of women farmers 240 which makes the total sample size for the study as 390. Women Leadership Role Index (WLRI) was developed to quantitatively assess the leadership performance of EWRs in gender responsive development. This index was developed using ten critical leadership dimensions such as empathy, self confidence, aspiration, problem solving ability, conflict management and negotiation skills, interpersonal skills, assertiveness, vision, decision making power, and managerial ability using principal component analysis. Empathy (0.334), self confidence (0.330), aspiration (0.327), and problem solving ability (0.326) were found as the most significant contributors of women leadership. After computing the composite scores for each respondent using quartiles, they were categorized into high, medium, and low leadership categories at 25.34 per cent, 49.33 per cent and 25.33 per cent, respectively. District level analysis of the WLRI showed that Thrissur and Kasaragod in the high category (36.67 % each), Idukki in the medium category (70.00 %), and Thiruvananthapuram exhibited the highest proportion of EWRs in the low category (43.33 %). The livelihood security of women farmers was assessed through the construction of a composite index by modifying the Livelihood Security Index (LSI) developed by Mishra and Debata (2021) with five dimensions ie; educational security, occupational security, social security, food security, and health security using principal component analysis. It was found that educational security (0.51) and occupational security (0.49) were most influential in defining livelihood security of the women farmers. By standardizing the index values at mean ± standard deviation, women farmers were categorized into high, medium and low livelihood security groups, representing 31.25 per cent, 41.25 per cent and 27.50 per cent respectively. District wise analysis revealed that Thrissur had the greatest share in the high category (47.92 %), Alappuzha led the medium category (52.08 %), and Idukki recorded the highest proportion of women farmers in the low livelihood security category (50.00 %). Spearman rank correlation analysis revealed that educational qualification, percentage of annual income from agriculture and allied fields, family landholdings, land ownership, extension contact, social participation, information source utilization and mass media exposure were positively and significantly associated with livelihood security among women farmers. The analysis of women oriented developmental schemes under decentralised planning of Kerala was carried out in which a total of 48 schemes which were active from 2020 to 2025 were identified and documented under ten thematic areas. A detailed content analysis was done for agriculture and allied sector schemes using NVivo 15 software and hierarchical maps were constructed. The basic profile and socio-economic development of EWRs revealed that 54 per cent of EWRs were belonged to the 31 to 50 years category. Respondents included presidents and vice presidents of local self government and nominated members of different standing committees in which 22 per cent belonged to the development standing committee and 19.33 per cent belonged to the welfare standing committee. Secondary education had been completed by 38 per cent of EWRs making it the most common level. A large majority of EWRs (89.33 %) were married. The predominance of nuclear households was evident, as 57.33 per cent of EWRs resided in nuclear families. Regarding occupational status, 42 per cent of EWRs were employed in the service sector. In case of annual income 42.67 per cent of EWRs belonged to the ₹5-10 lakh per annum income category. Meanwhile, agriculture and allied field contributed up to 20 per cent of annual income for 58 per cent of EWRs. Higher percentage of EWRs fall under the medium category of social participation, extension contact, information source utilization, ICT tools usage, and mass media exposure. The political profile of EWRs revealed that 39.33 per cent of EWRs entered their leadership roles between the age of 31 and 40 and elected service duration of 1-5 years was reported by 56 per cent of EWRs. Regarding political background, 55.33 per cent of EWRs reported having family members in political or organizational roles. High awareness of local body functioning was reported by 74 per cent of EWRs. Regarding their entry into politics, 47.33 per cent of EWRs cited political parties as their primary source of encouragement, whereas 32.67 per cent attributed it to self motivation. Spearman rank correlation revealed that only knowledge about local body functioning exhibited a statistically significant positive correlation with leadership performance of EWRs. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that economic (0.922), institutional (0.858), social (0.849), and personal and psychological (0.834) factors were the primary determinants of EWRs’ leadership performance. To quantify empowerment levels among women farmers, a composite Women Farmer Empowerment Index (WFEI) was developed by modifying Shilparani’s (2016) Farm Women Empowerment Scale and applying principal component analysis to the five dimensions. It was found that social (0.49), political (0.46), health and hygiene (0.44), cultural (0.43) and economic (0.42) dimensions were influencing women empowerment. Classification by quartiles yielded 25 per cent of women farmers in the high and low categories and 50 per cent in the medium category. Alappuzha recorded the highest high empowerment proportion (45.83 %) while Idukki had the highest medium empowerment (64.58 %). Spearman rank correlation analysis demonstrated that educational qualification, family landholdings, farming experience, information source utilization and mass media exposure were positively and significantly associated with empowerment among women farmers. Analysis of involvement of EWRs in different phases of decentralised agricultural planning revealed that the highest engagement recorded during the participatory need assessment phase. It was observed that Thiruvananthapuram district demonstrated 100 per cent in high awareness category while considering all the respondents 86.67 per cent showed high awareness on agricultural development projects. Spearman rank correlation analysis between selected profile characteristics and awareness of agricultural development initiatives by EWRs indicated that only extension contact exhibited a statistically significant positive association. The challenges encountered by EWRs were classified into five categories such as personal and psychological, administrative, technical, social and institutional and analyzed using Relative Importance Index (RII). The top ranked challenges were fear of failure or being dishonoured by the society, non-receipt of timely instructions, limited technical assistance, modest socio‐economic background, and occasional underestimation of women contributions within panchayat settings. Based on empirical findings among EWRs and women farmers across Kerala’s five agro climatic zones, six evidence based, context specific strategies were formulated to address critical gaps in leadership performance, socio-economic empowerment, involvement in decentralised planning and systemic constraints.
Effectiveness of online certificate courses offered by KAU center for e- learning
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture , Vellanikkara, 2024-03-01) Navitha, V N.; Mercykutty, M J
The advent of online education has revolutionized global access to specialized courses particularly through online certificate programmes and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The study was conducted among the participants of selected online certificate courses and MOOC courses offered by Kerala Agricultural University Centre for e-learning. Three online certificate courses, organic agriculture management, plant propagation and nursery management and post-harvest management and two MOOC courses, biological pest and disease management and mushroom cultivation were selected. The study aimed to evaluate the perceived effectiveness of online certificate courses offered by the Centre for e-learning, Kerala Agricultural University. It further examined the factors influencing the enrolment and challenges faced by the participants. The study also proposed a suitable model to strengthen the courses. Specific statistical tools, such as Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test, Kendall's coefficient of concordance, Factor analysis and Garrett’s ranking were employed. The study revealed positive outcomes in participant experiences across these courses. From high satisfaction scores to impacts on professional development, positive behavioural shifts and notable learning achievements, the courses stand out as transformative. Regarding the overall effectiveness, Kruskal Wallis test revealed that there were no significant differences among the three selected online certificate courses. However slight variations were observed with respect to coverage of diverse techniques, introduction of latest concepts and exposing entrepreneurship opportunities. The Mann-Whitney U test analysed the independence of observations in two MOOCs, Biological Pest and Disease Management and Mushroom Cultivation. Despite subtle differences in mean scores, the test indicated no significant distinction between the courses, showcasing the challenges of comparing virtual, contact-free learning experiences. Kendall's coefficient of concordance delved into participant’s agreement on the effectiveness of courses on specific domains. Weak to moderate agreement underscores varying perceptions, highlighting the diverse impact of courses in organic agriculture, post-harvest management, and plant propagation and nursery management. Factor analysis explored the perceived impact of online education, highlighting three significant factors, financial well-being, social and community impact and personal development and communication. These factors have contributed to a cumulative variance of 72.29 %, emphasizing multifaceted benefits. Kendall's coefficient of concordance was also applied to analyse the factors influencing enrolment in courses. Moderate agreement showed consistent prioritization of skill development, convenience, affordability, personal interest and capacity building indicating diverse participant motivations. Challenges faced by respondents for pursuing online courses were assessed using Garrett's ranking. Technical difficulties, reduced interaction, work commitments and economic challenges emerged as common concerns. The study suggested improvements and recommended the "Online Pinnacle" model, addressing communication, financial literacy, scheduling, outreach, and instructional content to elevate the quality of online education. The "Online Pinnacle" model is suggested to promote the quality and effectiveness of the courses. Key components include the facilitation of increased communication channels through online platforms and live sessions, promoting collaboration among participants. The model emphasizes the incorporation of financial management sessions by integrating an additional module with relevant case studies for practical insights. A flexible contact class schedule is also proposed to minimize disruption and cater to learners' convenience. Expanded outreach and advertisements, featuring a comprehensive marketing strategy is advised to boost course awareness. The inclusion of KAU multi-centre facilities provides more options in arranging contact classes at various centres in the state. Multi coloured illustrative self-instructional materials are recommended for enhanced engagement, while the addition of sufficient number of practical videos which align with course objectives can enrich the learning experience. Overall, the model strives for excellence in online education through stimulating learning experience by addressing the important elements.
Performance analysis of mahila kisan sashaktikaran pariyojana (MKSP) scheme in Thrissur district
(Department of Agricultural extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2020) Rashida, V K; Mercykutty, M J
Performance analysis of school vegetable gardens in Palakkad district
(Department of Agricultural extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2020) Ajit, T G; Mercykutty, M J
Prospects and challenges of medicinal plant cultivation in homesteads of Thrissur district
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2018) Roshni Thampi; Mercykutty, M J
Medicinal plants are priceless gifts of nature. The State of Kerala is enormously graced with a rich biodiversity of medicinal plants due to its diverse agro-climatic conditions. In Kerala, cultivation of medicinal plants is confined to homesteads, along the boundary of farms, forest areas, leased land and as intercrops in coconut or rubber plantations. Ayurvedic medicine manufacturing units and practitioners use considerable quantities of parts of medicinal plants as raw drugs. Consequently there is excessive harvest of medicinal plants from forest areas which seriously threatens not only the future supply but also leads to extinction of medicinal plant species. For sustainable utilization of medicinal plants these species are to be conserved, hence it is necessary to cultivate medicinal plants to meet the internal and external demand. The study was primarily intended to assess the knowledge of homestead farmers on cultivation of medicinal plants, profile characteristics of homestead farmers and the influence of socio-economic attributes on knowledge level. The medicinal plant diversity, use of medicinal plants as home-remedies and ITK were documented and challenges in medicinal plant cultivation were analyzed. The study also tried to prescribe suggestions for popularization and area expansion of medicinal plant cultivation. The study was conducted in the Thrissur district of Kerala state. The sample included 90 farmers drawn from 3 blocks of the district namely Kodakara, Pazhayannur and Wadakkanchery and 30 extension personnel. Data were collected by using structured interview schedules and focused group discussions. The results revealed that 68.90 per cent of medicinal plant cultivators had medium knowledge level on cultivation of medicinal plants with Mean Score Index (MSI) of 65.26. It was observed that Kodakara block had highest MSI in production (93.30) followed by plant protection (70.00) technologies. However, all the three blocks had comparatively low MSI for post-harvest technologies. Correlation of profile characteristics with knowledge level showed that out of 20 variables, 16 variables had significant and positive relationship. The variables mass media exposure, social participation, trainings undergone, education and attitude towards organic farming had shown higher positive correlation with knowledge. The study also assessed the diversity of medicinal plants in homesteads. Pazhayannur and Wadakkanchery blocks recorded almost similar high diversity (0.905 and 0.904 respectively) of medicinal plants followed by Kodakara block (0.861). Sixty two medicinal plants were identified which are very commonly seen in the study area including 11 medicinal trees, 17 medicinal shrubs, 27 medicinal herbs and 7 climbers. Documentation of indigenous traditional knowledge on use of medicinal plants was done along with identification of common home remedies. The study revealed that respondents are highly knowledgeable about use of medicinal plants as home remedies. The major challenges in medicinal plant cultivation perceived by farmers of Wadakkanchery and Pazhayannur blocks were lack of marketing facilities, poor knowledge on cultivation aspects and post-harvest handling, exploitation of middlemen and inadequate storage facilities. However, Kodakara farmers had perceived differently. These could be overcome by providing peripatetic trainings focused on knowledge and skills, promoting group farming and buy back arrangements with medicine manufacturers and ensuring adequate price. Major interventions required for promotion of medicinal plant cultivation are providing proper marketing channels and minimizing involvement of middle men. Farmers should be made aware of the agencies through which they could possibly sell their products. For fostering medicinal plant cultivation, awareness cum training programmes on production practices, preservation, processing and cluster farming under societies can be popularized among homestead farmers and self-help groups. For promising areas, strategies for encouraging entrepreneurship may be designed and implemented.
Social entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood development -a study on women collectives in Lakshadeep Islands
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture,Vellanikkara, 2022) Fathimath Zuhra, M C; Mercykutty, M J
Lakshadweep is India’s smallest union territory located in Arabian Sea, comprises of 35 tiny coral islands with 32 sq. km area and a population of 64473 in the ten inhabited islands. These inhabited islands are Agatti, Amini, Androth, Bitra, Chetlat, Kadmat, Kalpeni, Kavaratti, Kilthan and Minicoy. Besides fishing and tourism, coconut cultivation, marketing and processing of coconut constitute the major livelihood options of people of Lakshadweep. According to Government of India (2011) Lakshadweep is having a population of 64473, and out of this 31,350 are females with a literacy rate of 87.95 %. According to the annual report of Department of women and child development (2019) there are 5057 women working under 435 self-help groups. Women collective can be defined as a group of women who meet regularly to achieve a shared purpose. These groups take many forms across the world like Self Help Groups (SHGs), Joint liability Groups (JLGs) and Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) where women come together for different economic, legal, health and cultural reasons. In Lakshadweep there are only two types of women collectives, they are SHGs and Dweepsrees (Lakshadweep version of Kudumbasree). Social entrepreneurship can be described as a business model for larger interest where the members of community come together for fulfilling a social mission aiming for social change and development. It functions as the agent of change, questioning the status quo, grabbing the new yet overlooked opportunities by taking the local resources into consideration, building on relations and by refining and re-refining to reach the grass roots. The study was conducted in Lakshadweep islands. Three islands were selected from the ten inhabited ones, Androth and Amini being the major islands and Chetlat, the minor one. Sample size consisted of 120 respondents from women collectives and 30 facilitators. Respondent’s category of women collectives belonged to the members of Self helf Groups under Swayam Siddha and Dweepasree. The profile of SHG members showed that 47.5% belonged to middle age category and 71.5% were home makers. Regarding educational qualification, 31.83% had attended higher secondary level and 94% of them were having an annual income greater than 1 lakh rupees. Majority of the respondents belonged to medium category for social participation, decision making and innovativeness. Half of the selected respondents (50.84 %) had attended two trainings. Dimensions of social entrepreneurship were described with respect to social vision, social network, innovativeness, sustainability and financial management. It was found that the SHG members had the perception that social entrepreneurship could help them to attain a sustainable livelihood. They felt that improvement in investment in entrepreneurial activities along with the skills and trainings could improve their livelihoods. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis of profile characteristics and perception on social entrepreneurship revealed that social participation and innovativeness had significant positive correlation with social entrepreneurship at 1% level, while decision making was significant at 5%level. Along with these three variables, training exposure had a positive significant relationship with the performance of SHGs. Performance of SHGs were measured using four indicators viz;financial indicators, social up-liftment indicators, functional activities and selfdevelopment indicators. Analysis of the performance of SHGs in three islands using Kruskal Wallis test, it was observed that Chetlat had the highest mean perception score (91.69) compared to Amini (61.36) and Androth (28.45). With respect to the above four independent variables significant differences were also observed among these three islands. Binary logistics regression showed that social participation and social entrepreneurship had positive significant relationship with performance of SHGs while occupation had a negative relationship. Comparison of Group dynamics efficiency index ( GDEI )of three islands using Kruskal Wallis test showed that there was no significant differences among the three islands where the mean index being 66.60. Factors affecting social entrepreneurship were categorized and studied under personal and psychological, situational and socio- economic dimensions. Entrepreneurial motivation, social acceptance and self-confidence were the most influencing elements of social entrepreneurship. Challenges faced by SHG members were considered under three groups viz; individual challenges, financial challenges and situational challenges. High cost of raw materials, high market competition and lack of sufficient time for SHG involvement due to personal difficulties were the most serious challenges felt by the SHG members from three islands that is Androth, Amini and Chetlat. A significant value of Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W = 0.935) showed that there existed a strong agreement among the respondents and facilitators (W= 0.975). It has been recommended that location specific entrepreneurial avenues and marketing strategies may be implemented based on the production pattern of the particular area along with awareness and training. Linkages with local shop owners and whole sellers should be improved for getting various inputs and for marketing the products. It has been also suggested that more infrastructural facilities have to be provided for proper storage and marketing. Branding of the products highlighting the ethnicity may also be encouraged
Social entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood development -a study on women collectives in Lakshadeep Islands
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture , Vellanikkara, 2022) Fathimath Zuhra, M C; Mercykutty, M J
Lakshadweep is India’s smallest union territory located in Arabian Sea, comprises of 35 tiny coral islands with 32 sq. km area and a population of 64473 in the ten inhabited islands. These inhabited islands are Agatti, Amini, Androth, Bitra, Chetlat, Kadmat, Kalpeni, Kavaratti, Kilthan and Minicoy. Besides fishing and tourism, coconut cultivation, marketing and processing of coconut constitute the major livelihood options of people of Lakshadweep. According to Government of India (2011) Lakshadweep is having a population of 64473, and out of this 31,350 are females with a literacy rate of 87.95 %. According to the annual report of Department of women and child development (2019) there are 5057 women working under 435 self-help groups. Women collective can be defined as a group of women who meet regularly to achieve a shared purpose. These groups take many forms across the world like Self Help Groups (SHGs), Joint liability Groups (JLGs) and Non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) where women come together for different economic, legal, health and cultural reasons. In Lakshadweep there are only two types of women collectives, they are SHGs and Dweepsrees (Lakshadweep version of Kudumbasree). Social entrepreneurship can be described as a business model for larger interest where the members of community come together for fulfilling a social mission aiming for social change and development. It functions as the agent of change, questioning the status quo, grabbing the new yet overlooked opportunities by taking the local resources into consideration, building on relations and by refining and re-refining to reach the grass roots. The study was conducted in Lakshadweep islands. Three islands were selected from the ten inhabited ones, Androth and Amini being the major islands and Chetlat, the minor one. Sample size consisted of 120 respondents from women collectives and 30 facilitators. Respondent’s category of women collectives belonged to the members of Self helf Groups under Swayam Siddha and Dweepasree. The profile of SHG members showed that 47.5% belonged to middle age category and 71.5% were home makers. Regarding educational qualification, 31.83% had attended higher secondary level and 94% of them were having an annual income greater than 1 lakh rupees. Majority of the respondents belonged to medium category for social participation, decision making and innovativeness. Half of the selected respondents (50.84 %) had attended two trainings. Dimensions of social entrepreneurship were described with respect to social vision, social network, innovativeness, sustainability and financial management. It was found that the SHG members had the perception that social entrepreneurship could help them to attain a sustainable livelihood. They felt that improvement in investment in entrepreneurial activities along with the skills and trainings could improve their livelihoods. Spearman’s rank correlation analysis of profile characteristics and perception on social entrepreneurship revealed that social participation and innovativeness had significant positive correlation with social entrepreneurship at 1% level, while decision making was significant at 5%level. Along with these three variables, training exposure had a positive significant relationship with the performance of SHGs. Performance of SHGs were measured using four indicators viz;financial indicators, social up-liftment indicators, functional activities and selfdevelopment indicators. Analysis of the performance of SHGs in three islands using Kruskal Wallis test, it was observed that Chetlat had the highest mean perception score (91.69) compared to Amini (61.36) and Androth (28.45). With respect to the above four independent variables significant differences were also observed among these three islands. Binary logistics regression showed that social participation and social entrepreneurship had positive significant relationship with performance of SHGs while occupation had a negative relationship. Comparison of Group dynamics efficiency index ( GDEI )of three islands using Kruskal Wallis test showed that there was no significant differences among the three islands where the mean index being 66.60. Factors affecting social entrepreneurship were categorized and studied under personal and psychological, situational and socio- economic dimensions. Entrepreneurial motivation, social acceptance and self-confidence were the most influencing elements of social entrepreneurship. Challenges faced by SHG members were considered under three groups viz; individual challenges, financial challenges and situational challenges. High cost of raw materials, high market competition and lack of sufficient time for SHG involvement due to personal difficulties were the most serious challenges felt by the SHG members from three islands that is Androth, Amini and Chetlat. A significant value of Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W = 0.935) showed that there existed a strong agreement among the respondents and facilitators (W= 0.975). It has been recommended that location specific entrepreneurial avenues and marketing strategies may be implemented based on the production pattern of the particular area along with awareness and training. Linkages with local shop owners and whole sellers should be improved for getting various inputs and for marketing the products. It has been also suggested that more infrastructural facilities have to be provided for proper storage and marketing. Branding of the products highlighting the ethnicity may also be encouraged