PhD

Vegetables play a major role in Indian agriculture by providing food, nutritional and economic security. More importantly, vegetables give higher returns per unit area and time. In addition to this, vegetables have higher productivity, shorter maturity period, high value and provide high income per unit time leading to improved livelihoods. Further there is a great need today to enhance the per hectare productivity so as to boost the vegetable production. Efforts are being made from various angles to encourage farmers to increase the area under the important vegetable crops. In Kerala, the total area under the cultivation of vegetables during 2017-18 was 46,363 ha. (Government of Kerala, 2018). The Hindu Daily reported that around 1000 crore worth of vegetables were imported into our state yearly and the news empirically stated the demand supply gap of vegetables. National Horticulture Mission came up with an action plan for Kerala in connection with the Eleventh Five Year Plan which clearly pointed out that our state was highly deficient in its requirement of vegetables. The total requirement of vegetables in the state was 8.18 lakh tonnes, of which the production was 3.47 lakh tonnes and the rest is accounted by the neighbouring states. If the requirement is worked out based on Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) norms, the state requires as much as 24.11 lakh tonnes of vegetables. Present study entitled Entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable farmers in central Kerala was focused on to examine the entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable farmers, to identify the factors influencing the entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable farmers, to analyse the constraints which affect the entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable farmers, to study the extent of adoption of KAU technologies among vegetable farmers and to suggest strategies to promote entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable farmers.
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For the purpose of the study five agro ecological zones namely Coastal sandy, Central midlands, Malayoram, Palakkadan plains and Chittoor black soil were selected from the central zone of Kerala (Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad districts). From each agro ecological zone, one block having maximum area under vegetable cultivation was selected. A total sample of 450 vegetable farmers (fifty per cent farmers were receiving assistance from VFPCK and fifty per cent were not receiving assistance from any other agencies termed as ordinary vegetable farmers) were selected from the five selected blocks. Primary data were collected from the selected farmers by using pre-tested structured interview schedule. The analysis was carried out using simple statistical tools like percentages, mean and standard deviation, correlation coefficient, Chi squre test, indices, t-test, ANOVA and Speareman‟s rank correlation coefficient.
To examine the entrepreneurial behaviour, innovation orientation, farm decision making, achievement motivation, risk taking ability, information seeking behaviour, leadership ability, cosmopoliteness, market orientation, etc were taken into account. The objective was analysed with the help of statistical tools like percentage, indices, T-test and ANOVA table. The results of the analysis revealed that the majority of the VFPCK farmers as well as ordinary farmers are found to have moderate level of entrepreneurial behaviour. In most of the VFPCK as well as ordinary farmers, the determinant innovation orientation was high with index value of 86.24. Zone wise analysis revealed that there was no significant difference between the mean scores of ordinary farmers and VFPCK farmers of zone 1 (coastal sandy), zone 2 (central midlands) and zone 3 (Malayoram) but, the mean scores of ordinary farmers and VFPCK farmers of zone 4 (Palakkadan plains) and zone 5 (Chittoor black soil) differ significantly with respect to their entrepreneurial behaviour at 5% level of significance. Pearson Chi-square values obtained in zone 1, zone 2, zone 3 and zone 5 was not significant at 5% level and it was significant at 5 per cent level in zone 4 alone. This showed that type of farmer and his entrepreneurial behaviour were independent in zone 1, zone 2, zone 3 and zone 5 whereas they were dependent in
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zone 4. From the summary of analysis of variance it was further observed that there was no difference in the entrepreneurial traits among the selected zones except in the case of cosmopoliteness of farmers of zone 4 significantly different among ordinary farmers. The analysis of factors influencing the entrepreneurial behaviour of commercial vegetable farmers highlighted that in case of VFPCK farmers, annual income, social participation, market ecosystem, level of aspiration, age, education, size of land holding, experience and training received by them were significantly associated with their entrepreneurial behaviour at 5 per cent level. But, in case of ordinary farmers, their level of aspiration, occupation, size of land holding, experience and training received were found significantly associated with their entrepreneurial behaviour at 5 per cent level. Zone wise analysis revealed that in case of VFPCK farmers, social participation was significantly positively correlated with entrepreneurial behaviour in zone 2 and zone 4 at 5 per cent level, whereas, adoption of improved practices was significantly negatively correlated with entrepreneurial behaviour at 1 per cent level. Age was significantly associated with entrepreneurial behaviour in zone 2 and education was significantly associated with entrepreneurial behaviour in zone 4 at 5 per cent level. None of the other variables in any zone was significantly associated with entrepreneurial behaviour at 5 per cent level whereas among ordinary farmers, annual income and social participation were significantly negatively correlated with entrepreneurial behaviour at 5 per cent level. None of the other variables in any zone was significant at 5 per cent level. The study also revealed that attributes such as occupation in zone 1, size of land holding in zone 2 and zone 5 were found significantly associated with their entrepreneurial behaviour at 5 per cent level.
Constraints which affect the entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable farmers were analysed by considering the variables like production constraints, organisational support constraints, constraints in technology factor, social constraints, marketing
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constraints economical constraint and financial constraints. It was well clear that VFPCK farmers and ordinary farmers felt marketing constraints were more serious than any other constraints. Both categories of farmers ranked organisational constraints to be least worried about. Both categories of farmers felt that all constraints in the same order of intensity. There was no significant difference between mean scores of constraints felt by VFPCK farmers and ordinary farmers. The Spearman‟s rank correlation coefficient in each zone was found to be significant at 1 per cent level which indicated that there is some agreement between VFPCK farmers and ordinary farmers in all zones with respect to constraints that affect their entrepreneurial behaviour. The extent of adoption of KAU technologies among vegetable farmers with respect to season, varieties, seed rate, sowing, manuring, irrigation, pest control, disease identification and remedies were examined. It was found that 50.67 per cent of VFPCK farmers have fully adopted KAU technologies that too only the technologies related to season. It was a clear observation that majority of the VFPCK farmers had not adopted KAU technologies in other areas like varieties, seed rate, spacing and sowing, manuring, irrigation, pest control and diseases. Just below half of the VFPCK farmers (43.11 per cent, 41.33 per cent and 43.56 per cent) had partially adopted KAU technologies related to seed rate, spacing and sowing and manuring respectively. Among ordinary farmers also same findings were observed except for manuring, where majority of the ordinary farmers had partially adopted KAU technologies. The study found that attributes like type of farmer and extent of adoption were independent based on chi square test.
The findings of the analysis highlighted certain interventions which were necessary to improve the entrepreneurial behaviour of vegetable farmers. The study pointed out the shortage of labourers as one of the major constraints faced by the farmers. Shortage of labourers can be reduced by forming cluster farmers‟ group and if the farmers and their family members themselves were engaged in labour on a
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cyclic manner. Since social participation and training considered as the major factors influencing the entrepreneurial behaviour, more training programmes are to be imparted to them which create opportunities for social participation. Panchayath and Krishibhavans can play major role in this respect. Now the VFPCK is functioning as a platform for promotion of vegetables and fruits. If VFPCK is restructured to promote farmer producer company with proper marketing outlets and channels, the problem of perishing of farm produces and marketing can be resolved. If a special team of scientists in KAU is formed for monitoring the problems of farmers at the stage of production and if meetings are arranged at Krishibhavans to interact with farmers and to suggest remedies, then it would help to tackle the problems faced farmers in vegetable production to a certain extent. This will also help to disseminate the technologies also. If there are problems with no remedies, it can be considered as a point of discussion and can be taken to the research system for finding appropriate solution. The adoption level of KAU technologies is very limited among vegetable farmers which necessitate the need for strengthening extension activities of KAU with respect to dissemination of new technologies through the Department of Agriculture and Farmers' welfare.