Profile characteristics of beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme

Introduction

The food processing sector plays a vital role in strengthening the rural economy, generating employment, and ensuring value addition to agricultural produce. Recognizing its potential, the Government of India launched the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) scheme in 2020 under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. The scheme aims to support micro food processing enterprises through credit-linked subsidies, capacity building, skill training, and the promotion of Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), Self-Help Groups (SHGs), and cooperatives. Its key objectives are to enhance competitiveness, ensure standardization, and increase access to formal credit and markets for small-scale entrepreneurs. Understanding the profile of beneficiaries under the PMFME scheme is essential for assessing the scheme's effectiveness. The socio-economic and enterprise characteristics of beneficiaries such as age, education, annual income, family size, family occupation, land holding, training received, resource availability, market orientation, use of social media and experience provide insights into their strengths and constraints. Such profiles help in identifying gaps in implementation, evaluating the inclusiveness of the scheme, and suggesting suitable policy interventions for the sustainable development of micro food processing enterprises. In this context, the present study focuses on analyzing the socio-economic profile of PMFME beneficiaries, highlighting their demographic, economic, and enterpriserelated characteristics. This will not only reflect the present status of micro food processing units but also guide future strategies for strengthening the sector.

Methodology

In this study, Ratnagiri district of the South Konkan region in Maharashtra State was purposively selected. Ratnagiri district comprises of nine tahsils namely Ratnagiri, Khed, Dapoli, Rajapur, Sangameshwar, Chiplun, Mandangad, Lanja, Guhagar. Among these, two tahsils Khed and Dapoli were purposively selected because the presence of maximum number of beneficiaries who have availed support under PMFME scheme in these areas. Primary list of beneficiaries obtained from SAO, Ratnagiri office, which served as the basis for further sampling and data collection. Different villages from Khed and Dapoli tahsils were chosen, as the beneficiaries under the PMFME scheme were scattered across various villages within these tahsils. From each of the selected tahsils, 30 PMFME beneficiaries were selected from Khed tahsil and 30 PMFME beneficiaries were selected from Dapoli tahsil. Thus, a total of 60 PMFME beneficiaries were selected for collection of required information. The ex-post-facto research design was adopted for this study since the phenomenon has already started and is continuing. Ex-post-facto research is the most systematic empirical inquiry, in which the researcher does not have direct control over the independent variables as their manifestation has already occurred or as they are inherent and not manipulatable. Thus, inferences about relations among variables were made without direct intervention from concomitant variation of independent and dependent variables.

Results and Discussion

Analyzing the socio-economic profile of beneficiaries is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of the PMFME scheme in achieving its objectives.

Age

The data presented in Table 1 revealed that majority (68.33 per cent) of the beneficiaries belonged to 'middle' age category i.e. between 33 to 51 years. This is followed by 16.67 per cent were in the 'young age group' and 15.00 per cent were in the 'old age group', respectively. The average age of the beneficiaries was 42 years. This distribution indicates the predominance of middle-aged participants, who are generally characterized by a balanced combination of work experience, financial stability, and motivation to secure a sustainable income source.

Education

The data presented in Table 1 shows that one third (33.33 per cent) of the beneficiaries had completed their 'graduation', followed by 31.67 per cent who had finished 'secondary education'. Additionally, 23.33 per cent had 'higher secondary education' and 8.33 per cent had 'postgraduate degrees'. Only 1.67 per cent of the beneficiaries had education up to 'pre-primary' and 'primary' levels each, while none of the beneficiaries were illiterate. Thus it can be conclude that most of the PMFME beneficiaries have at least a moderate level of formal education due to the presence of adequate educational facilities and increasing awareness among rural families. The data from Table 1 revealed that half (50.00 per cent) of the beneficiaries were marginal farmers owning less than one hectare of land. This was followed by 21.67 per cent with small holdings (1-2 ha) and 20.00 per cent with semimedium land holdings (2-4 ha). Only a small proportion 5.00 per cent belonged to medium land holdings and 3.33 per cent belonged to large land holding categories. This clearly indicates that a majority of the beneficiaries operate with limited land resources may be attributed to the geographical features of the Konkan region, where fragmented plots, inheritance-based subdivision, and limited scope for expansion are common. The data presented in Table 1 shows that the majority (70.00 per cent) of the beneficiaries reported optimum resource availability, while 18.33 per cent had rich resource availability and 11.67 per cent faced poor resource availability. The average resource availability score was 10.6. This indicates that most beneficiaries had access to a reasonable level of resources. It is noticed from Table 1, nearly half (46.66 per cent) of the beneficiaries had medium experience (7-14 years), while 30.00 per cent had low experience (up to 6 years) and 23.33 per cent reported high experience (15 years and above). The average value of the experience was 10 years. This indicates that most beneficiaries had been managing their enterprises for a considerable period. This suggests that a majority of entrepreneurs had adequate exposure to handle challenges and opportunities in the food processing sector.

Training received

Market orientation

Conclusion

The study highlights that PMFME beneficiaries are largely middle-aged, moderately educated, and marginal farmers with medium levels of income, resources, and enterprise experience. These attributes indicate moderate livelihood opportunities; however, targeted policy interventions in resource access, market linkages, and skill development are essential to ensure sustainable growth and socio-economic advancement.

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