A study on livelihood activities followed by the male rural youths in flood affected Dhemaji district of Assam state of India

Abstract

Abstract:The study was conducted at flood affected Dhemaji district of Assam where the flood is a major concern for the livelihood of rural male youth. The paper focused on existing livelihood activities opted by of rural male youths, their reason for choosing the activities and problems encountered in doing it. To date, no study has looked specifically at all the three aspects. The present study together investigated all the three elements. The study selected 200 rural male youths from the district as respondents following multistage random sampling. The survey found the mean age of the respondents as 28.83 years. The study found that the respondents opted 17 types of livelihood activities. Most (25.50%) of the interviewees chose sali rice cultivation, and they (100.00%) cited the availability of suitable land as a reason. Under vegetable cultivation, 96.07% respondents mentioned scope for round the year production and income generation as reasons. The respondents opted piggery(100.00%), poultry (100.00%), weaving (100.00%), dairy (92.85%), goatery (91.66%) and fishery (90.00%) mentioned high market demand as a reason. Regarding the problem, all respondents (100.00%) opting sali rice cultivation and vegetable cultivation reported flood, flood-induced sand and insufficient irrigation as problems. The high price of improved livestock breed was an issue for respondents (100.00%) opting dairy, poultry, and piggery. In fishery, 80.00% respondents mentioned nonavailability of quality fingerlings as a problem. The paper urges the policy makers, researchers and development organisations for utilising the findings to select appropriate interventions for providing livelihood security to male rural youths of Dhemaji district of Assam State, India.

Decadal Change in Income Diversification of Small and Marginal Farmers of Assam in Climate-Vulnerable Situations

“…Due to high floods, frequent floods, drought, high and erratic rainfall, and flash floods, the agriculture of Assam is affected badly [14, 15,16]. Paddy land is deteriorating with siltation in many areas, and the production and productivity of many crops are decreasing, resulting in decreased farmers' income [17,18]. It affects the livelihood of farmers, mainly marginal and small farmers of Assam.…”

A GIS-based study on the changing course of the River Jiadhal in the Dhemaji district, India

“…The major floods in the years 1969, 1973, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011(Hazarika, 2010Das, 2013a) have severely damaged the entire drainage basin. Moreover, due to high flood, the Jiadhal River has become unstable and changed its course after every high-magnitude of flood (Kakoty et al, 2018). Excessive erosion and subsequent deposition in the intermediate and lower course of the river have created a challenging environment.…”