An assessment of group dynamics effectiveness, constraints and strategies for effective functioning of women farmer interest groups under ATMA

Introduction

Agricultural extension in India has undergone significant transformation since the implementation of the Training and Visit (T&V) system during the 1970s to the early 1990s. The changing agricultural landscape, characterized by the predominance of small and marginal landholdings and a substantial proportion of rain-fed farming areas, highlighted the need for a more integrated, inclusive, and responsive extension approach. Consequently, extension reforms have progressively shifted from conventional top-down methods to decentralized, participatory, and pluralistic extension systems. Among the major initiatives introduced to strengthen agricultural extension in India are the Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) and the National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP). These programmes aim to enhance research-extension linkages and address persistent challenges within the agricultural sector. While ATMA demonstrated positive outcomes in its pilot phase, its nationwide implementation produced mixed results, reflecting institutional, regional, and implementation complexities. Within the ATMA framework, local Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) play a pivotal role in mobilizing Farmers' Interest Groups (FIGs) and Self-Help Groups (SHGs), which are subsequently organized into producer groups by extension personnel. This arrangement strengthens decentralized decision-making at the block level and enables active participation of FIGs The data, categorized into five levels and presented in Figure 1, reveal that more than half (59.17 per cent) of the FIG members had a high level of participation, followed by 18.33 per cent with very high participation, 15.83 per cent with medium participation, and 6.67 per cent with low participation. The findings indicate that the majority of FIG members exhibited a high level of participation. This may be attributed to their higher economic and achievement motivation, which encouraged greater involvement in group activities and contributed to improved group performance. These findings are supported by Darji (2018) [4] and Patil (2019) [9] . Team work refers to the extent to which group members maintain unity, work collectively towards common goals, and are willing to attribute success to combined efforts. Team work enhances the synergistic effect and efficiency of group activities. The data presented in Table 1 show that more than half (52.50 per cent) of the FIG members had a high level of team work, followed by 20.00 per cent with excellent team work, 15.00 per cent with fair team work, and 12.50 per cent with poor team work. No respondent was found in the very poor category. Overall, the majority of respondents were found to possess good to excellent levels of team work. A favourable attitude towards collectivism and the close-knit nature of rural social relationships may explain this pattern. These findings are in agreement with Ganguly (2005) [5] , Bhatt (2010) [2] , and Darji (2018) [4] .

The working atmosphere within a group significantly influences individual performance. The findings indicate that 40.00 per cent of FIG members experienced an excellent group atmosphere, followed by 30.00 per cent with good, 26.67 per cent with fair, and 1.67 per cent with poor atmosphere, suggesting that the majority perceived a favourable environment conducive to effective group functioning, with minimal conflicts observed during field visits (Bhatt, 2010; Darji, 2018; Patil, 2019) [2,4,9] . Regarding decision-making, 40.00 per cent of members exhibited excellent ability, followed by 35.83 per cent good, 21.67 per cent fair, and 2.50 per cent poor, indicating that most members possessed strong collective decision-making capacity, which is essential for managing routine and crisis situations in poultry enterprises (Ganguly, 2005; Bhatt, 2010; Patil, 2019) [5,2,9] . Group cohesiveness was found to be fair among 37.50 per cent of members, good among 31.67 per cent, excellent among 25.00 per cent, while only 5.83 per cent fell under poor to very poor categories, showing that most members exhibited medium to high cohesiveness, enabling better teamwork and problemsolving (Darji, 2018; Patil, 2019) [4,9] . Leadership qualities were excellent among 40.00 per cent of members, followed by good (30.00 per cent), fair (26.67 per cent), and poor to very poor (3.33 [, 2, 4, 9] . Task function performance was very high for 55.00 per cent and high for 33.33 per cent of members, indicating that effective decision-making translated into efficient task execution (Ganguly, 2005) [5] . Achievement levels were high among 51.67 per cent and very high among 31.67 per cent of members, suggesting that internal motivation combined with external support from ATMA personnel contributed to improved group outcomes (Ganguly, 2005; Darji, 2018; Patil, 2019) [5,4,9] . Interpersonal communication was good among 43.33 per cent and excellent among 35.83 per cent of members, reflecting strong social ties and proximity among group members (Ganguly, 2005; Darji, 2018) [5,4] . Group democracy was perceived as good to excellent by the majority of members (67.66 per cent), indicating adequate freedom in expression, leadership selection, and participatory discussions, although this contrasts with Darji (2018) [4] . [7,4] .

Constraints faced by respondents in women figs under ATMA

Constraints imply forcible restriction and confinement of action. During investigation the group members expressed many reasons due to which they could not participate and performed well in their FIGs. These causes were termed as the constraints. Data in this regard are presented in table 2. The data presented in Table 2 indicate that the major constraint affecting the effective functioning of groups was the tendency of members to expect increasing support from government and other agencies, as reported by an overwhelming majority (92.50 per cent) of the respondents. This was followed by the intrusion of personal and local issues into group activities (90.00 per cent), lack of managerial experience (78.33 per cent), poor interaction between extension workers and farmers (76.67 per cent), and irregular attendance of members in group meetings (67.50 per cent). Other constraints reported included less participation of women (64.17 per cent), absence of location-specific technologies (57.50 per cent), lack of training for conducting various group activities (51.67 per www.extensionjournal.com cent), lack of awareness about the purpose of group formation at the time of becoming a member (48.33 per cent), inadequate information regarding marketing strategies (25.83 per cent), and instances where leaders failed to take strong decisions (23.33 per cent). Overall, it can be concluded that excessive dependence on government and external agencies, dominance of personal and local issues over group activities, inadequate managerial experience, weak extension-farmer interaction, and irregular meeting attendance were the major constraints perceived by most group members in the effective functioning of the groups.

Suggestions offered by the respondents in women FIGs under ATMA

The suggestions given by the respondents were collected to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of women Farmers Interest Groups. For strengthening the group dynamics effectiveness, some observations made during field survey, research findings, discussed points with the grass root level ATMA personals were also incorporated. The suggestions offered by the women members are arranged in descending order of their frequency and percentage. 3 it can be concluded that majority of the members offered more income -generating skills training should be organized for the members, women beneficiaries should be provided with adequate financing and subsidies and the members should arrive in time to attend meetings. The present finding gets support from the findings reported by Bhagyasree (2014) [3] .

Conclusion

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementI would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my esteemed major advisor, Dr. H.U. Vyas, for his trust, insightful discussions, invaluable advice, and unwavering support throughout the entire study. I am especially grateful for his patience and guidance during the writing process.

References

1. Anonymous. Training programme on formation and management of producers groups and federations. 2020. http://www.manage.gov.in/studymaterial/PGs.pdf
2. Bhatt MR. Group dynamics in tribal women self help groups of Vansda taluka in Gujarat. Anand: Anand Agricultural University; 2010.
3. Bhagyasree P. A study on capacity building and empowerment of self-help groups in Thane district of Maharashtra. Hyderabad: Acharya N.G. Ranga www.extensionjournal.com Agricultural University; 2014.
4. Darji A. Group dynamics of farmers interest groups under ATMA in Ahmedabad district of Gujarat state. Anand: Anand Agricultural University; 2018.
5. Ganguly S. A study of women self help group dynamics in dairying. Karnal: National Dairy Research Institute; 2005.
6. Lewin K, Lippett R, White R. Leader behavior reaction in three social climates. In: Cartwright D, Zander A, editors. Group dynamics: research and theory. 2nd ed. Evanston: Row, Peterson and Company; 1960. p. 111.
7. Patel JB, Chauhan NB. Scale to measure attitude of farmers towards farmers' interest group (FIG). In: Measurement of attitude: scales to measure attitude towards various components of rural and agricultural development. 2016. p. 108.
8. Patel JB, Chauhan NB, Vinaya Kumar HM. Relationship between attitude of farmers towards FIG and their profile in Anand district of Gujarat. Guj J Ext Edu. 2018;29(2):174-177.
9. Patil CN. A study of self-help group dynamics of women in Gujarat. Anand: Anand Agricultural University; 2019.