An assessment of socio– economic effect of tiruchengode agricultural producers cooperative marketing society with reference to namakkal district in tamil nadu (tcms): An empirical study

Abstract

Marketing societies have been creating, maintaining and enhancing the economic development among the community. They seek to raise agricultural output, create employment and eradicate poverty by providing market accessibility to farm producers, securing reasonable and remunerative prices, supplying adequate inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural implements at reasonable prices, implementing effective linking of credit with marketing,distributing consumer articles at reasonable prices through fair price shops, etc. They help to promote the growth and development even in the most remote rural areas. An attempt is made to analyze the demographic indicators (age, gender, education, community and family size), social indicators (social participation, exposure to mass media and contact with change agents) and economic indicators (occupation, family annual income, assets, size of land holdings and debts) influencing individuals. As regards to farmers categories, big farmers have high perception towards the economic contributions of marketing cooperatives, farm income, assets, occupation,knowledge about cooperative management, and participation in cooperative management have greatly effected to realize the economic contributions of marketing cooperatives. Thus the marketing cooperatives in the study area have made imprints on the economic lives of the farming community in the region. This study indicates the existence of significant level of differences among farmers in their socio, economic profile as well as cooperation indicator variables such as knowledge about cooperative, cooperative management and services availed from cooperatives.