Capacity-building of farm women through agri-business activities
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Date
2005
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Publisher
CCSHAU
Abstract
The study was undertaken in Bhiwani district of Haryana covering 3 blocks
and 3 villages with randomized sample of 240 @ 80 per village. Personal, social,
economic, psychological and communicational parameters were taken as independent
variables. Capacity-building was taken as the dependent variable. The study reveals
that majority of the respondents hailed from lower middle age category, educated upto
primary, medium family education status, large family size, high caste, no social
participation, nuclear family, farming occupation, monthly income of Rs. 5000/-,
possessing 0-3 milch animals and small farmers. Majority of the respondents had low
to medium entrepreneurial motivation, risk orientation, change proneness and credit
orientation and medium communication behavior and mass media exposure.
Mushroom cultivation, vermicomposting, dairy-cooperative, beekeeping and
nursery-raising were identified as feasible agri-business activities for the rural
women. Confidence and high-moral values were perceived entrepreneurial attributes
of a woman. Majority of the respondents were willing to start mushroom cultivation
and vermicomposting as an agri-business activity. Major motivating factors to
undertake agri-business activities were desires to be self-reliant and availability of
resources/time/space/finance. Main demotivating factors not to undertake
agri-business activities were lack of support from the family and lack of knowledge.
Majority of the respondents had low knowledge of requirements of agri-business
activities. Most of them preferred to go for production unit. Majority of the
respondents had medium to low ability, low to medium capability, low to medium
potential, medium to low willingness, low to medium aspirations and medium to low
economic motivation. Major constraints perceived by the respondents were problem in
procuring finance as well as loan from different agencies, lack of technological
knowledge about running the unit, economic incredibility being women, poor linkage
with networking marketing bodies and lack of risk orientation.
Significant gain was reported in psychological attributes viz. entrepreneurial
motivation, risk orientation, change proneness and credit orientation. Significant gain
in entrepreneurial attributes viz. willingness to start agri-business activity,
willingness to take risk, willingness to change, willingness to take credit, willingness
to take training was found after the introduction of intervention package. Significant
gain was reported in all the capacity-building aspects viz. ability, capability potential,
willingness, aspiration and economic motivation. Maximum gain was found in
willingness followed by ability and capability. Vermicomposting was perceived as the
most profitable, triable, relatively advantageous, labor saving, culturally compatible
and cheap technology. Age was found to be highly significantly associated with
capacity-building. Steps need to be taken to facilitate the transfer of technologies in
order to improve the status of agri-business enterprises, development and utilization
of women leadership, facilitate education and training, restructure of extension
approach for the capacity building of farm women.