Abstract

                                The present study aimed to analyze the relationship of profile characteristicswith group performance of tribal FIGs. The survey was purposively conductedin Erode district as it contains more number of tribal Farmer Interest Groups(FIGs). A total of five Tribal FIGs were randomly selected from 16 Tribal FIGsbelonging to Dhimbam Dhaniya Farmer Producer Company Limited (DDFPCL)and the total sample size was 100. A well-structured interview schedulewas prepared and employed to collect the data from the respondents. Thefindings showed that majority of the respondents were young aged with highschool education, female marginal farmers receiving low level of annualincome with medium level of farming experience. They had also receivedmedium level of support from institution. The findings of the study alsorevealed that majority of the members of tribal FIGs had 76.00, 75.00, 73.00,67.00 and 55.00 percentages of self-confidence, economic motivation,group leadership, group communication and information seeking behaviourrespectively.To improve the performance of tribal FIGs, measures shouldbe taken to increase the level of group communication, group leadershipand group cohesiveness. This can be increased through organizing regularmeetings for members, proper selection of leaders and making the membersto understand the importance of group action.

Key words : Farmers Interest Groups (FIGs); Group performance; Correlation; Multiple regression