EMPOWERING NEXT-GEN AGRICULTURE: RURAL YOUTH PARTICIPATION IN FARMER PRODUCER ORGANIZATION’S

Abstract

Young people have the potential to change the way agriculture is conducted with the use of technology; however, participation in agriculture is decreasing year after year because of the traditional, unsustainable and structural challenges of farming. However, the Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) overcome these constraints by bringing together small and marginal farmers, enhancing their livelihoods through collective action both in the upstream and downstream value chain. In light of the potential of FPOs to boost the GDP of India through the use of untapped potential of young people in Agriculture, this study aims to comprehensively review youth participation in FPOs and identify the socio-economic impacts and operation drivers that influence youth participation in the existing literature. To serve this purpose, the present study opted for systematic literature review along with bibliometric analysis. The major findings of the study reveals that India is found to be the country with highest scientific production where almost highest peak of 19 articles were published in 2024 and Indian Journal of Economics and Development is found to be the dominant most relevant source. Though, the publication starts from 2003 after formal institutionalizing of FPO in India by 2002, most of the studies were published after 2020 due to promotion activities carried by FPO. Further, future studies can assess the impact of youth participation on FPO leadership and effect of digital platform on the performance of FPO. Finally, it can be concluded that FPOs can be used as a tool to effectively collectivize farmers to adopt climate change mitigation strategies faster.