Small and marginal farmers in India have been vulnerable to risks in agricultural production. Several organizational prototypes are emerging to integrate them into the value chain with the objective of enhancing incomes and reducing transaction costs. Among these are Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). We explore the potential of FPOs as collective institutions through a case study of Avirat, one of the first FPOs in Gujarat. Our analysis suggests that FPOs have the potential to provide benefits through effective collective action. The main challenge, however, is to raise sufficient capital to maximize these benefits. We discuss the implications of our findings to policy.

Sand mining is a method of extracting sand for a variety of applications. As a business activity in Andhra Pradesh, it had been unregulated thus far and there have been reports of a mafia forming around it. To curb these illegal practices, the Government of Andhra Pradesh had launched an initiative of entrusting mining of sand to the women of DWCRA (Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas), to empower them by giving them a share in the earnings, to balance the ecological limitations of indiscriminate mining and to build the capacity of these selfhelp groups. One of the pilot projects in Gowripatnam seems to have unforeseen obstacles in the fulfilment of the stated objectives. Handling the throughput from taking orders online to timely dispatch of loads and payment of the declared compensation have not been streamlined after four months of piloting the project. The women are now looking at closing the ramp and withdrawing from the scheme.

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Introduction: In the quest of articulating customized tobacco cessation strategies, evaluation of the level of nicotine dependence among participants is quintessential. Objective: This study was conducted to assess the levels of nicotine dependence and its association with age and socioeconomic status among patients seeking oral health care at a teaching dental institution in coastal Andhra Pradesh. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was done among 199 participants with the habit of cigarette smoking who participated in the study. Nicotine dependence scores were assessed using Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). IBM SPSS version 20 software was used for data analysis. The Chi-square tests and Kruskal–Wallis analyses of variance were done to analyze the study data. P ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean FTND score was 4.52 ± 2.1. Significant differences in the mean nicotine dependence score were found between different age groups (P < 0.001) and participants belonging to different socioeconomic strata (P < 0.001). While a positive correlation was observed between age and FTND score, an inverse relation was noted between FTND score and socioeconomic status with participants from lower socioeconomic status demonstrating higher FTND scores. The majority of the participants reported smoking <10 cigarettes per day. Conclusion: The study participants demonstrated moderate nicotine dependence. The assessment of nicotine dependence scores as a preliminary step in tobacco cessation counseling is essential to effectively articulate customized cessation strategies.

Introduction: In spite of the efforts being directed at reducing the tobacco use among public, it remains a significant concern facing India today. In the quest of providing tobacco cessation counseling, documentation of the tobacco dependence of the individuals is quintessential. This study aims to assess the psychometric properties of the autonomy over smoking scale (AUTOS) among patients seeking oral health care at a teaching dental institution in southern India. Materials and Methods: The study sample constituted 199 subjects who satisfied the eligibility criteria of self-reported current smoking and were willing to participate in the study. Participants’ age, gender, and years of smoking were documented along with their nicotine dependence by administration of Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence (FTND) and AUTOS by a trained interviewer. The dimensionality of AUTOS was verified by confirmatory factor analysis using the Classical and Bayesian Instrument Development software program. Correlation analysis between FTND and AUTOS subscale scores was performed along with multiple linear regression analyses to identify the predictors for AUTOS subscale scores. Results: The symptom type-wise subscales of AUTOS and the overall scale demonstrated good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach alpha ≥0.758). Significant positive correlation was observed between age, years of smoking, FTND score, and all the AUTOS subscale scores. Linear regression analyses showed that the number of years for which the subject had been smoking was a significant predictor of all the three AUTOS subscale scores. Conclusion: AUTOS was observed to be a very useful tool with good internal consistency reliability that measures tobacco dependence in consistence with FTND among South Indian population, and while doing so, it captures the various forms of tobacco dependence in an independent manner.