Engagement of youth in coconut farming and its entrepreneurial behaviour assessment in FPO

Coconut-based Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) have emerged as vital platforms for promoting youth entrepreneurship in India’s agricultural sector. Given the crop’s economic significance and value chain potential, particularly in Tamil Nadu, this study examines the entrepreneurial behaviour of rural youth engaged in coconut-focused FPOs. An Entrepreneurial Behaviour Index (EBI) was developed, comprising ten dimensions: innovativeness, achievement motivation, decision-making ability, risk-taking, leadership, market perception, entrepreneurial orientation, information-seeking behaviour, knowledgeability and feedback usage. Each dimension was represented by statements rated on a five-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree). Content validity was ensured through expert judgment and items with a relevancy weightage ≥ 0.75 were retained. Weighted scores were normalised and aggregated to derive the overall EBI. The study surveyed 200 rural youth affiliated with coconut FPOs across Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode and Dindigul districts using a structured questionnaire. Reliability testing with Cronbach’s alpha yielded coefficients above 0.70, confirming internal consistency, while construct validity was established through expert review and theoretical alignment. Findings revealed that 62 % of respondents exhibited medium levels of entrepreneurial behaviour, 27 % high and 11 % low. Stronger competencies were observed in feedback usage, achievement motivation and decision-making, while innovativeness and risk-taking showed scope for improvement. This study differs from earlier work by focusing on coconut-based FPOs, an underexplored crop-specific context and by adopting a youth-centric lens. Moreover, it introduces a validated EBI offering a rigorous tool to assess entrepreneurial competencies in rural agripreneurship.