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Farmer producer organisations (FPOs) are considered as a strategy to improve the livelihoods of small farmers through economies of scale by providing collective strength to farmers for improved access to production technology, value-addition services, high-quality inputs and marketing services for improving their incomes. This study investigates the impact of FPO membership on organic farming household's income in Northeast India.

This study uses field survey data collected from all four districts of Sikkim. Primary data were obtained from a survey of 560 organic farming households, 280 of which are FPO members and the rest 280 are non-members. Propensity score matching (PSM) is used to estimate the impact of FPO membership on net returns, return on investment (ROI) and profit margin.

Results show that the FPO members had, on average, Rs. 7,254–8,133 higher annual net returns, 4.6–4.8% higher ROI and 8–8.4% higher profit margin than the non-members. The findings confirm that FPO membership has a positive and significant impact on net returns, return on investment and profit margin. Also, heterogeneity analysis indicates that FPO membership has larger positive impact on relatively bigger farmers and female-headed households.

As the study was based on a cross-sectional survey, the findings may be subjected to some limitations.

This study is based on a novel data set, collected specifically to examine the economic impact of FPO membership on organic farming in India.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2023-0451

Government of India has launched FPOs to organise small and marginal farmers into farmer collectives called FPOs. These FPOs, through economies of scale, aim to provide better collective strength to farmers for better access to production technology, value-addition services, high-quality inputs and marketing services for improving their incomes. Recently, the government has launched a scheme for creation and promotion of 10,000 more FPOs in the country. Despite potential benefits of FPOs and encouragement from the Government, there are many farmers in India, particularly Sikkim, who do not join the FPOs. This study aims to identify the major determinants that motivate farmers to join FPOs.

Primary data for this study was collected during October, 2019–February, 2020 from 560 farm households in all four districts of Sikkim, India. The study used two-sample t-test and FPO participation probit model for determining the factors influencing a household's decision to participate in an FPO.

The results of this study illustrate that education, farming experience, farming as the primary occupation, size of landholding, access to Internet, distance to the nearest market, medium level of social participation, extension contact, transportation facility and plan to expand the scale of operation in future are the major explanatory variables that have statistically significant impact on the farm households' participation in FPOs.

This study was based on a cross-sectional survey. As a result, the findings may be subjected to some limitations though the study made all possible efforts to minimise the limitations.

This paper is based on or a novel data set, collected specifically to examine the determinants of membership in Sikkim, India that has not been studied before. Moreover, this study has identified the importance of information and awareness initiatives among the farmers as responsible for farmers' participation in FPOs. The findings of this study will have important implications and lessons to draw from for the Central Government's effort towards Formation and Promotion of 10,000 new FPOs, especially in the hilly states of India.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2022-0216.

More than 40% of Indian households still rely on unclean cooking fuels, exposing particularly women and children to adverse health effects. This paper explores the factors determining a household’s cooking fuel choice in India.

The study used the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (2019-21) dataset. A chi-square test and a logistic regression were used for empirical analysis. Cooking fuel was categorized as “clean” and “unclean” cooking fuel.

The result shows that around 47% of the households are still using unclean cooking fuel in India. Households with a better-educated or female head, those with smaller family sizes, those with a higher level of wealth and those located in urban areas are more likely to use clean cooking fuel. Similarly, households headed by younger individuals and Muslim households are linked to more usage of clean cooking fuels. However, Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) households and those headed by older individuals are less likely to use clean cooking fuels.

The cross-sectional nature of data enables us to draw only associations between the variables and not causal relationships between them. The findings of this study have important implications for household energy policies in India and other developing nations. There is a need for policymakers to seriously consider socioeconomic factors in addressing issues and challenges associated with household energy consumption.

The study extends the empirical literature on determinants of household cooking fuel choice using the latest round of National Family Health Survey data from India.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-12-2023-0988