Impact of fishery co-operatives and their performance: A study in Kerala and Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Fisheries cooperatives have been a source of collective action for change and development in fishing communities. They have helped in bringing several government schemes to the fishers and aided in meeting credit and marketing requirements and can play a significant role if effectively managed. This paper presents findings of a study undertaken in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the year 2016 under a project funded by the NABARD to study fisheries cooperatives. About 888 respondents from 17 primary fishermen cooperatives were covered under the study.On an average the respondents had been members of the Societies for about 16 years in Kerala and 24 years in Tamil Nadu. The total number of beneficiaries reached from the time of inception of the selected societies ranged from 513 to 2864 in Kerala and between 832 and 20465 in Tamil Nadu. Respondents who were members of Fishermen Cooperative Societies in Kerala respondents agreed that the activities undertaken by the societies had impacted access to institutions, production, profit, management and livelihood. In Tamil Nadu, the figures ranged from 53.82 per cent for management to a low of 35.87 per cent for livelihoods. Based on the classification of selected impact indicators as high, moderate and low impact, it was observed that all indicators had high impact in Kerala, while in Tamil Nadu, the impact was moderate and low developed revealed that most of the 17 Societies studied were still in the growth phase, either early or mid-transition stages