Factors Responsible for Participation of Self Help Group Farmers in Vegetables and Fruits Promotion Council Kerala, India

Self Help Groups (SHGs) are farmer-led cooperatives in which all members work together to solve issues and take advantage of opportunities through participatory action following cooperative decision-making for the members' overall growth. In this context, a study was conducted in Palakkad district of Kerala to identify the factors responsible for the participation of farmer members in SHGs of Vegetables and Fruits Promotion Council Kerala (VFPCK). A proportionate random sampling technique was employed to collect data from 68 respondents and analyzed using mean score then ranked accordingly. The factors like economic, social, personal, organizational and marketing factors may be responsible for members to participate in VFPCK. The results of analysis revealed that marketing, organizational and economic factors were the important factors responsible for the participation of farmer members in VFPCK. Membership to a farmers’ group improves access to technology, training and output markets and consequently increasing expected profits. The results of this study have implications as to which factors need to be addressed to encourage farmers to participate in the SHGs of VFPCK.