MSc

ABSTARCT
The study entitled “Prospects and Problems of Agro Food Parks (AFPs): a Multidimensional Analysis” was undertaken with the objectives of analysing the entrepreneurial behaviour, profile characteristics, structure and function of AFPs, performance analysis, stakeholder linkage and constraints faced by the AFPs. The study comprised of eighty respondents who were selected randomly from four AFPs, namely, Spices Park- Idukki, Seafood Park- Alappuzha, KINFRA Food Park- Ernakulam and KINFRA Food Park- Malappuram. Thirteen independent variables were selected through judge’s ratings. The variables namely entrepreneurial behaviour and performance analysis were the dependant variables of the study.
On analysis of data, it was found that majority (58.75%) of agripreneurs were middle aged (35- 55 years) and 66.25 per cent of the respondents were graduates and above. Over 72.50 per cent of respondents had an experience of 2-9 years in agripreneurial activities. More than half (70.00%) of the respondents had medium level of cosmopoliteness and fifty percent had medium perception about the market. Majority of the respondents were in the medium category of problem solving ability (63.75%), credit orientation (62.50%), economic motivation (63.75%), management orientation (63.75%), group cohesion (71.25%) and extension orientation (70.00%).
Distribution of respondents based on extension contact revealed that majority (82.50%) of the respondents depended on personnel’s of AFPs and commodity boards for information and support. More than three-fourth (78.75%) of the respondents had high level of environmental orientation.
Majority (66.25%) of the agripreneurs were having medium entrepreneurial behaviour with a mean entrepreneurial behaviour index of 61.55. Distribution of respondents based on their entrepreneurial attributes was done using mean and standard deviation, it was found that majority of the respondents belonged to medium category of risk taking (71.25%), hope of success (61.25%), persuasibility (75.00%), feedback usage (75.00%), self-confidence (72.5%), knowledgeability (71.25%), persistence (75.00%), manageability (66.25%), innovativeness (66.25%) and achievement
motivation (62.50%). The results of the Principal Component Analysis revealed that the four components of entrepreneurial behaviour viz., risk taking, hope of success, persistence and use of feedback explained 64 per cent of variations with eigen values greater than one.
The correlation study revealed that out of the thirteen independent variables, six variables viz., cosmopoliteness, market perception, problem solving ability, credit orientation, management orientation and extension orientation were positively and significantly correlated at 1% level of significance whereas education, environmental orientation, group cohesion and economic motivation were positively and significantly correlated at 5% level of significance.
Performance was analysed in terms of leading and lagging indicators. ‘Customer focus’ was ranked ‘one’ with a weighted mean score of 4.48 under leading performance indicator. Similarly, ‘business performance’ was the most important lagging performance indicator with a weighted mean score of 4.30. The organisational structure analysis revealed that all the AFPs had three levels of management whereas the maximum functionaries were present in Alappuzha. The major functions of AFPs include providing land area to establish food companies, common infrastructural facilities such as cold storages, warehousing facilities, effluent treatment plants, quality control laboratories, single window clearance etc. On analysing the stakeholder linkage of AFPs, stakeholders were found to be maximum (9) in Idukki and minimum (4) in Alappuzha.
Out of the seven constraints as perceived by the agripreneurs and the officials of AFPs, the major constraint identified was the ‘lack of adequate and timely availability of funds ‘which in turn hindered the development of AFPs. The main suggestions as perceived by the officials of AFPs include expansion of existing land area to accommodate more number of units, to create awareness in public about the services offered by AFPs and to improve the infrastructural facilities to the international standards. To conclude, it is quintessential to design policies at macro level in order to improve the facilities and agripreneurial potential of AFPs so that the farmers and aspiring agripreneurs can make use of the services provided by AFPs in the best possible way.