Study on Entrepreneurial Behavior of Farmers Thondamuthur block of Coimbatore

Objectives of the study

To determine the entrepreneurial behavior of farmers To assess the characteristic of farmers and to analyze their relationship

with entrepreneurial behavior

To identify factors which affect their entrepreneurship behavior

Scope of the study

The importance of entrepreneurship in economic development is being

recognized all over the world.

This study will help to streamline strategies for the development of

farm entrepreneurs

Study Area
Thondamuthur block is a revenue block of Coimbatore district. In

Thondamuthur block, MBCs constitute a major proportion of 45.60 closely followed by BCs with 44 per cent respectively.
The farm households are mostly headed by males, the percentage

being 98.80 and follow small family norms.

Thondamuthur block is covered with red soil (98.4 per cent). Red soil

has iron content and is fit for crops like red gram, bengal gram, green
gram, groundnut, castor seed etc
Agriculture is the main occupation and farmers are also involved in

allied activities like goat rearing based on which four villages were
selected
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Devarayapuram

Narasipuram

Selection of respondents A farm entrepreneur is one whose main occupation is agriculture coupled with one or more allied activities like poultry, sericulture, goat rearing , mushroom cultivation etc
Farmers who run goat rearing as commercial venture were selected Purposive sampling technique- 120 respondents were selected

Entrepreneurial Behaviour Index (EBI)

In the present study, entrepreneurship behaviour among the farmers is studied in the light of seven variables namely Innovativeness, Achievement motivation, Decision-making ability, Risk-taking ability, Aspiration, Locus of control, Management orientation. Each aspect of entrepreneurship is based on some related statements, which are measured.

Where,
SEV = Score on entrepreneurial variables MSEV = Maximum score on entrepreneurial variables. i = 1 n number of variables included in entrepreneurship

Measurement of components of Entrepreneurial Behavior

Innovativeness Innovativeness proneness scale of Moulik (1990) Three sets of three statements were read out to farmers and asked to indicate one choice from each of the three sets. The statements are given below:

1. a) I feel restless till I try out new farm practices I have heard about. b) I try to keep myself upto date with information on new farm practices but that does not mean I will all new methods on my farm. c) they talk of many new farm practices these days but who knows they are better than old ones. 2. a) From time to time I have heard of several new farm practices and I have tried most of them in last few years. b) I usually wait to see what results my neighbor obtain before I have tried out the new farm practices c) I believe that traditional ways of farming is best 3. a) Im cautious about trying new practices b) often new practices are not successful however if they are promising I would surely like to adopt them c)Our forefathers are wise in their farming practices and I dont see any reason in changing these old methods.

Decision making Measured by a scale originally developed by Singh(1980) and modified by Nandapurkar (2000) For each item the response categories were not considered , considered after consultation with others and decision taken independently for which scores were given as 0,1 and 2 respectively The items were: - to start new enterprise - to try new varieties - to try new practice - to change cropping pattern - buying /selling of land - land improvement - hiring labour

Achievement motivation
Achievement motivation scale of Singh et al.,(1982) Six item scale with five alternative response to each item with scores 5 to 1 The respondents were asked to give their responses to each item

The six items are:

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a) Success brings belief or further determination and not just pleasant feeling. SA/A/UD/DA/SD b) How true is it to say that our efforts are directed towards avoiding failure F/PF/UD/PT/OT c) How often do you seek opportunity to excel nearly always/ frequently/half the time/ seldom/hardly ever d) Would you hesitate to undertake something nearly always/ frequently/half the time/ seldom/hardly ever e) How many spheres lead you to failure very few/few/ some /many/ most f) How many situations do you think you will succeed in doing as well as you can very few/few/ some /many/ most

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Risk taking ability

Measured by a scale developed by Supe (1970)

consists of both positive and negative statements The responses fall into a five point continum- SA, A, UD,DA,SDA Positive statements 7 5 4 3 1 Negative statements 1 3 4 5 7 The statements are as below

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1. A farmer should grow large number of crops to avoid greater risks involved in growing one or two crops. 2. A farmer should take more of a chance in making big profit than to be content with a smaller but less risky profit. 3. A farmer who is willing to take greater risk than average farmer usually does better financially. 4. It is good for a farmer to take risk when he knows his chance of success is fairly high. 5. It is better for a farmer not to try new farming methods unless most others have used it with success 6. Trying an entirely new method in farming by a farmer involves risk but it is worth.
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Aspiration measured by a scale used by Porchezian (1998) 1. what would you expect to be the increase in your land holding in the next three years a) increase by one acre b) 2-3 acres c) 4-5 acres d) 6-7 acres e) 8 acres and above

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2. In how many years you expect that your annual income would become doubled a) One year b) two years c) three years d) > three years 3. What would you expect to be the increase in production in the next three years a) As it is b) double c) more than double
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4. How many enterprises would you like to add to yours in the next 3 years a) One b)two c) three d) > three 5. What would you expect to be your general standard of living in next 3 years somewhat better/ mostly better/certainly better

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Locus of control This refers to a personality variable that has to do with beliefs that one holds about what factors are dominant in controlling important outcomes in life A person with an internal locus of control is one who believes that reinforcements are consequences of ones behavior. A person with an external locus of control is one who believes that achievement is more dependent on factors such as luck or chance Measured by scale of Porchezian (1998) Consists of six statements related to internal and external LOC For each statement, a score of 2 for internal locus and 1 for external locus was given

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Statements 1. People misfortunes result from the mistakes they make

Responses Yes/No

2. One should always be willing to admit his/her mistakes

3. A high success is due to hard work and sincerity and not due to luck 4. People who are really well wishers of others get good name and fame 5. Trusting fate never turns out well because ones good decision determines his achievement 6 .It is not always wise to plan too far ahead because many things turn out to be a matter of good or bad fortune anyhow
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Yes/No
Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Yes/No

Independent variables measurement

Age

19

Chaudhari et.al.,(2007) young middle aged old Education Chaudhari et.al.,(2007) illiterate can read read and write primary secondary higher secondary degree

<34 35-44 >44

 Occupation - Extent to which a respondent is agriculturally occupied

Jarkko Pyysiainesn (2006) Agriculturally occupied Non- Agriculturally occupied

Experience in agriculture

Chandramouli et.al.,(2007) <10 years low 10-20 years medium >20 years high
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 Experience in enterprise

Chandramouli et.al.,(2007) <5 years low 5-10 years medium >10 years high
Farm size

Jarkko Pyysiainesn (2006) Upto 2.5 acres marginal farmers 2.5 5 acres small farmers 5-10 acres medium farmers >10 acres big farmers
Mass media exposure - Palaniswamy et al.,(2004)
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Frequent rare

3 2

never

 Size of enterprise

Chandramouli et.al.,(2007) Upto 20 goats small 20- 40 goats medium >40 goats big
Annual income

Ramasamy (1999) low upto 15000Rs Medium 15001- 30000 Rs High >30000Rs
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 Annual income from enterprise

Chandramouli et.al.,(2007) low upto 30000Rs Medium 30001- 60000 Rs High >60000Rs

Scientific Orientation

Supe(1970) scale of 6 statements and the scoring procedure SA A UD DA SDA positive 7 5 4 3 1 negative 1 3 4 5 7

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Statements for scientific orientation

1.New methods of farming give better results to farmers than old methods 2. The way a farmers forefather farmed is still the best way to farming today 3. Even a farmer with lot of experience should use new methods of farming 4. Though it takes time for a farmer to learn new methods in farming it is worth than efforts 5. A good farmer experiments with new ideas in farming 6. Traditional methods of farming have to be changed in order to raise the level of living of a farmer

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 Economic Motivation

Nanjaiyan (1985) scale of 6 statements and the scoring procedure SA A UD DA SDA positive 5 4 3 2 1 negative 1 2 3 4 5 The statements are:

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Statements for Economic motivation

1. The community respects rich farmer more than poorer ones 2. Prestige is more important than profit in judging the success of farm 3. Money alone does not give entire satisfaction in a farmer life 4. A farmer should always aim at social recognition rather than recognition on monetary ground. 5. A farmer should adopt on innovation which helps him to get more money 6.A farmer requires only money to achieve most goals in his life

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Correlation
To find out the association between independent variables and

entrepreneurial behavior and its significance

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Multiple regression
To find the functional relationship between independent variables and

entrepreneurial behavior
= a + b1 X1 +b2 X2 + bn Xn here = entrepreneurial behavior

a = intercept
b1 , b2 bn = partial regression coefficient X1 , X2 . Xn = independent variables

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RESULTS

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Entrepreneurship behavior of farmers

Entrepreneurial Behavior index (in percentage) Low (< 40) Medium (41-80) High (>80) Frequency Percent

37 70 13 120

30.84 58.33 10.83 100.0

IJEMR January 2012- Vol2- Issue 1

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Results of independent variables measurement

Age
N
Young Middle aged Old 22 56 42 120

P
18.33 46.67 35.0 100.0

Education

Illiterate

1.67

Can read
Can read and write Primary Secondary Higher secondary Degree

7
8 12 16 43 32 120

5.83
6.67 10.0 13.33 35.83 26.67 100.0

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 Occupation
N Agriculture Non-agriculture 85 35 P 70.83 29.17

Experience in agriculture

Low Medium High

6 89 25 120

5 74.17 20.87 100.0

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 Experience in enterprise

Low Medium High

Farm size

54 66 0 120

45.0 55.0 0 100.0

Upto 2.5 acres 2.5- 5 acres 5-10 acres >10 acres

5 39 56 20 120

4.16 32.50 46.67 10.67 100.0

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 Size of enterprise

Upto 20
20-40 >40

20
76 24 120

16.67
63.33 20.00 100.0

Annual income from agriculture

Low Medium High

15 93 12

12.50 77.50 10.00

120
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100.0

 Annual income from enterprise

Low Medium High

47 43 30 120

39.17 35.83 25.00 100.0

Scientific orientation

Low Medium High

25 74 21 120

20.83 61.67 17.50 100.0

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 Economic motivation

Low Medium

30 85

25.00 70.83

High

5
120

4.16
100.0

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Correlation coefficients of independent variables towards entrepreneurial behavior

Variable s Characteristics r value

X1
X2 X3 X4 X5 X6 X7 X8

Age
Education Occupation Experience in agriculture Experience in enterprise Farm size Size of enterprise Annual income from agriculture

- 0.083 NS
0.6399 ** - 0.3062 ** - 0.1766 NS - 0.0419 NS 0.2792 ** 0.2579 ** 0.1870*

X9
X10 X11

Annual income from enterprise

Mass media Scientific orientation

0.3117 **
0.4929 ** 0.5418 **

X12
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Economic motivation

0.4919**

* Significance at 5% level ** significance at 1% level

Functional relationship between independent variables and entrepreneurial behavior

Characteristics Age Education Occupation Experience in agriculture Experience in enterprise Farm size Size of enterprise Partial regression 0.0009 0.0038 -0.0085 0.0016 -0.0004 0.0089 -0.0021 SE of partial regression 0.0013 0.0024 0.0187 0.0018 0.0018 0.0032 0.0023 t value 0.731 1.552 -0.457 0.842 -0.209 2.755* -0.910

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Annual income from agriculture

-0.0033

0.0015 -0.0001 0.0053 0.0026 0.0055

-2.252* -0.734 0.463 2.477* -0.250

Annual income from enterprise -0.0001 Mass media Scientific orientation Economic motivation 0.0024 0.0063 -0.0014

R2 = 0.7184 a= 1.2012 F= 14.31* 72% of variation in dependent variable is explained by independent variables chosen for study.

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Factors that affects entrepreneurial behavior of farmers

Personal factors Achievement motivation Experience Self confidence Own interest Number 74 58 35 32 Percent 61.67 48.33 29.17 26.67

Risk taking ability

Educational qualification Eagerness to evaluate enterprise

18
12 8

15.0
10.0 6.67

Anticipation of future possibilities

40

3.33

Economic factors Economic gain Prior income Financial assistance 106 97 46 88.33 80.83 38.33

Possession of ancestral property

Sociological factors Previous occupation Societal influence Family background

12

10.0

92 78 15

76.67 65.00 12.50

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Physical factors Availability of inputs Good transport service Farm size Market factors Good market potential Responsive prices 108 79 90.00 65.83 120 78 18 100.0 65.0 15.0

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Implications of the study

The measurement of entrepreneurial behavior of farmers revealed that there

is still more potentiality and scope to improve

Entrepreneurial training programs should be tailored to the farmers to promote entrepreneurial behavior

The entrepreneurial behavior of farmers was not influenced by their age but

it was education which acts to promote entrepreneurial behavior among farmers and is effective with all age groups.
As majority of farmers were middle aged, this group should be imparted

training, so that they can act as catalysts in motivating other farmers.

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References
Entrepreneurial behavior of rural women farmers in dairying: a

multidimensional analysis by B Subrahmanyeswari, K Veeraraghava Reddy

and B Sudhakar Rao ,2007

Jarkko Pyysiainesn, et.al. Developing the Entrepreneurial Skills of Farmers:

Some Myths Explored, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research, Vol.12, No.1, 2006, pp.21-39.
Porchezhian, M.R., et.al. 1998, Entrepreneurial behaviour of farmers, Journal

of Extension Education, 9: 1963-1964.

Pandya, R.D., 1997, Entrepreneurial behaviour of inland fisherman. Journal of Extension Education, 8: 1717.

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 Patil , V.G., et.al, 1999, Entrepreneurial behaviour of bitter gourd

growers .Maharashtra Journal of Extension Education, XVIII: 240243.

P. Chandramouli et.al.,(2007) Comparative Analysis of

Entrepreneurial Behaviour of Farmers in Irrigated and Dry Land Areas of Raichur District of Karnataka Karnataka J. Agric.Sci.,20(2): (320-222)
Anitha, B., 2004, A study on entrepreneurial behaviour and market

participation of farm women in Bangalore rural district of Karnataka. M.Sc. (Agri.) thesis, University of Agricultural Sciences,Bangalore.
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R. R. Chaudhari et.al.,(2007), A Scale for Measurement of