Institutional Support System for Fodder Entrepreneurs in Kerala

An explorative research design was selected for the study. The study was conducted among 60 respondents of 3 block-panchayats purposively using a multi-stage sampling technique viz., Ollukkara, Chalakkudy and Wadakkanchery of Thrissur district in Kerala. The respondents of the study were farmers who cultivated and sold fodder for livelihood at the time of data collection. An institutional support system refers to any organizational or institutional agency working in the study area having a direct or indirect influence on the process of entrepreneurship among fodder cultivators. A semi-structured interview schedule was developed for the purpose and the data thus collected were analysed using SPSS 21.0. The majority (55%) of respondents received moderate institutional support (with a mean score of 11.5 - 17.7). The results indicated that the institutional support of various agencies was moderate and that the entrepreneurs expected a higher level of support. Organizational-level changes are needed to sort this out. On the other hand, appropriate extension efforts have to be taken to disseminate such information to the entrepreneurs.