Browsing by Author "Shamna, N"

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Agripreneurship in commercial plant nurseries of Kerala - a multidimensional analysis
(Department of Agricultural Extension Education, College of Agriculture, Vellayani, 2025) Aleena Elias; Shamna, N
The study entitled “Agripreneurship in commercial plant nurseries of Kerala-A multidimensional analysis” was undertaken during 2023-24. The objectives of the research were assessing forward and backward linkages of commercial plant nurseries of Kerala; documenting the best marketing practices adopted by the nursery entrepreneurs; delineate the factors contributing success; and arrive at suggestion for policy recommendations to mitigate the problems faced by commercial plant nurseries of Kerala. The study was carried out across three districts viz. Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Wayanad were selected representing south, central and north Kerala respectively and the study involved a sample size of 90 plant nursery entrepreneurs and 30 stakeholders of the plant nurseries. Social Network Analysis (SNA) was utilized to examine the connections of plant nurseries with various stakeholders. Forward linkages primarily include retail customers, retail nurseries, and wholesale customers, while backward linkages consist of raw material providers, plant material providers, infrastructure providers, financial institutions, and logistics. Key stakeholders range from farmers to government agencies and financial institutions. This study found that 100% of entrepreneurs keep up with market trends and diversify plant offerings, ensuring visually appealing nurseries to attract customers. Positive factors for adoption of better marketing practices include competition orientation, self-reliance, and land holding, while social networking showed a negative influence on marketing practices. Success is largely influenced by social responsibility (0.22), followed by employment (0.19), customer satisfaction (0.17), financial strength (0.07), and lifestyle factors (0.07). The majority of respondents (51.1%) reported moderate to high success, with a smaller portion achieving low levels. Principal Component Analysis identified eight key success factors: influence and competence, social capital, financial acumen, motivation, community and assets, leadership, self-reliance, and creativity. Most nursery entrepreneurs are middle-aged (45-60 years, 52.22%), well-educated, and maintain medium to large family sizes. Land holdings vary, with 38.89% owning up to 33 cents, while a significant portion (75.56%) operates within 5 kilometers of a town. Market intelligence, credit orientation, and risk orientation levels among respondents indicate a balanced, experienced group. However, training participation is minimal, with 91.1% having received none. Findings revealed high levels of self-reliance (61.1%), managerial ability (75.9%), self confidence (77.8%), and social networking (78.9%) among respondents. While economic motivation and critical thinking levels are moderate, other abilities like leadership (64.4%), persuasive capability (70%), and innovation (54.4%) show strong presence, although mass media exposure remains low (63.3%). Garret ranking method was used to rank the constraints. Experiencing fluctuations in demand based on seasons (72.10) was perceived as the major constraint followed by the competition from other nurseries, home improvement stores and online retailers (71.88), extreme weather conditions (69.89) and difficulty in finding skilled labor (54.04). Addressing these constraints requires targeted policies such as providing disaster preparedness grants to commercial plant nurseries, establishing a centralized digital platform for all the plant nurseries of Kerala, envisaging training and capacity building programmes like skill development programs, technical skill enhancement programs, capacity building on modern marketing techniques such as digital marketing, promoting the development of climate-resilient plants and encourage the adoption of cultivation practices that can adapt to climate change and fostering collaborations with KAU and other public institutions for research & training.
Inter generational role of ethnic medicines in the livelihoods of tribes people in Malappuram
(Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Vellanikkara, 2022) Shamna, N; Jayasree Krishnankutty, M
Conservation of traditional knowledge of human health has recently become a global concern. Medicinal plants and herbs are being lost due to lack of awareness and deforestation. In Kerala, the diversified system of traditional practices based on their ethnic medicine knowledge has prevailed among the tribal communities since time immemorial. Medicinal plant collection is one of the major livelihood avenues for the tribespeople. They are being exploited by the external tradesmen in medicinal plants trade, which push them to further economic backwardness. The study was conducted at Malappuram district of Kerala. Three major tribal communities viz., Paniyans, Aranadans and Kattunaikkans were selected. The study followed ex-post facto research design conducted among 180 tribal respondents. Thirty members were selected randomly from different stakeholders for perception study. The study revealed that only 36.96% of the elderly tribespeople, 27.54% of the middle aged tribespeople and 26.15% of the young tribespeople had ethnic medicine knowledge. Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Score (cumulative sum of citation, knowledge use pattern and knowledge use frequency) was used to measure the ethnic medicine knowledge of the tribespeople in the study. The mean Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Scores of the young, middle and elderly age categories of the tribespeople were 6.41, 5.16 and 7.94 respectively. Further, a chi square test was performed and found that there is a significant relation existing between age and ethnic medicine knowledge. The relationship between the Knowledge Use Behaviour and the age was compared by using Kruskal-Wallis test. It was found that there is significant difference in Knowledge Use Behaviour among the three age categories. The study also documented the ethnic medicine knowledge of the tribal respondents in three age groups. It was found that the elderly, middle aged and young tribespeople knew the usage of 75, 42, 30 medicinal plants respectively. The three tribal communities viz., Paniyans, Arandans and Kattunaikkans shared their knowledge about 61, 37 and 47 numbers of medicinal plants respectively. A chi square test was done and found that knowledge of three communities differs significantly. The mean Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Scores of the respondents of Paniyans, Aranadans and Kattunaikkans tribal communities were 6.85, 6.45 and 6.62 respectively. The study found that only 24 (29.27%) of the tribesmen and 29 (29.57%) of the tribeswomen had ethnic medicine knowledge. The mean Ethnic Medicine Knowledge Scores of the tribesmen and tribeswomen were 5.79 and 7 respectively. Out of 72 tribespeople depending on the medicinal plant collection, only 15 (21.13%) are women, the rest of the 56 (78.87%) people are men. But in case of number of Vaidyas in selected colonies, the number of women Vaidyas are more (15) compared to male Vaidyas(11). The weighted mean knowledge use behaviour score was 2.77 and mean ethnic medicine knowledge score was 6.45, which means the use of knowledge is lower compared to their actual knowledge. Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CATPCA) of the three tribal communities was carried out separately. Twenty four variables were reduced into 2 factors which explain 61%, 61% and 60% of the total variance of the data for Paniyans, Aranadans and Kattunaikkas respectively. In case of Paniyans, the variables were grouped into Natural resources dependency factor and Cosmopoliteness and social connectivity factor. For Kattunaikkans, the variables were grouped into Personal empowerment factor and Social empowerment factor. For Aranadans, the variables were grouped into Economic activities factor and Cosmopoliteness and social connectivity factor. Binary logistic regression was performed to calculate the relationship between the natural resources utilization of the tribespeople for their livelihood requirement and the independent variables. This test revealed that the variables such as age, number of income sources, medicinal plant collection experience, and leadership quality had positive and significant effect on the natural resources utilization among the tribespeople. Ethnic medicine value chain with the involvement of tribespeople was studied. The major marketing channel was the channel involving primary collectors, commission agent, wholesalers, Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturing Units (AMMUs), retailers and consumers. All the marketing channels of the ethnic value chain involving tribespeople were figured out. Share of the primary collectors (tribespeople) in the value chain was found out for the major 12 medicinal plants. Low price for the medicinal plant sold was major constraint in marketing and the unavailability of the produce was the major constraint in the collection as perceived by tribespeople. To measure the perception of the stakeholders and to identify the constraints of tribespeople, Kendall`s coefficient of concordance was used. According to the stakeholders, “middlemen selling these products for a huge sum of money to wholesalers while tribespeople are not paid enough for their effort” and “awareness on importance of value addition activities is very low among the tribal people” were the major constraints experienced by the tribespeople in ethnic medicine trade. Multi dimensional analysis diagram for a problem viz., lower return in ethnic medicine trade by tribespeople was developed by using RAAKS (Rapid Appraisal of Agricultural Knowledge System) framework. A focused and participatory approach by understanding the essence of tribal culture and their actual need is the actual solution of the existing problems. Value-based training on the importance of the tribal culture and its unique relationship with the forest, skill-based training on the identification of medicinal plants, and scientific plucking procedures of the plant parts can be imparted to tribespeople.