A Study on the Farmers’ Participation in Local Farmer’s Organization: The Case of the Banana Farmer’s Production Groups in Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR

초록

To assist farmers in shifting from subsistence to commercial agriculture, the govern ment of Laos has promoted farmer organizations throughout the country. The farmer production groups have gradually transformed and emerged into strong cooperatives or associations. The pur pose of this study was to examine the factors affecting farmers’ participation in FPGs. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources. A total of 140 respondents participated in a field survey in three kumb ban (village groups) in the Xepon District. Descriptive statistics and binary logistics regression models were used to analyze the data. The results show that the education level of household head, farmland size, access to credit, and perceived trust for farmer production group membership are significantly different from those who are non-members of the groups. However, non-members of FPGs face more constrain in accessing the market, as compared to the members of FPGs. The empirical results from the Binary Logit Model indicate that education level of headed household, farmland size, access to credit, perceived trust, and constraint to market are factors that significantly determine farmers’ participation in FPGs. This study contributes to the empirical lit erature by providing a better understanding of farmer participation in the groups. The government of Laos should consider and promote access to credit, farmer learning, and market integration to improve farmers' participation in FPGs.

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