Study on Socio-Economic Status and Constraints Faced by the Livestock Farmers of the Aspirational Districts of West Bengal, India

Abstract

The study was conducted on socio-economic status and constraints faced by the farmers in purposively selected five aspirational districts (as identified by the NITI Aayog, Govt. of India) of West Bengal. Respondents were randomly selected from each district with a total sample size of 4285 number of farmers for the present study. The data was collected with the help of a pre-tested structured interview schedule. The study of various socio-economic indicators suggests that the majority of animal husbandry and fishery farmers in the aspirational districts were illiterate and belong to the most active age group, Hindu religion, and with lower economic status. Cultivation was the main occupation of the majority of farmers to maintain livelihood security. The analysis also revealed that the majority of the farmers were also engaged in livestock rearing. Finally, it also depicted various constraints like lack of training facilities, education etc. These were the major drawbacks for the upliftment of the socio-economic status of the farmers in the five selected districts of West Bengal which might be very much informative in the formulation of specific animal husbandry development plan in the study area.

Socio-Economic Characteristics, Adoption, and Knowledge Level of Goat Farmers: A Study in Aspirational Districts of West Bengal, India

“…Agriculture and related industries' share in the labour force is dwindling. India has the world's richest animal wealth, yet the productivity of the livestock industry is low [1]. Another explanation for it can be variations in the socio-economic circumstances of the livestock farmers.…”