A STUDY ON EFFECTIVENESS OF TRIBAL SUB PLAN ON POVERTY ERADICATION IN DHEMAJI DISTRICT OF ASSAM
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Date
2023
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Abstract
The study entitled “A Study on Effectiveness of Tribal Sub Plan on Poverty Eradication in Dhemaji district of Assam” was carried out in Dhemaji district of Assam with a view to study the effectiveness of TSP on poverty eradication. The specific objectives of the study were:
1. To study the profile characteristics of tribal beneficiary and non-beneficiary of the study area.
2. To measure the poverty level of the beneficiary and non- beneficiary tribal people in the project area.
3. To identify the barriers of the development of the respondents as perceived by them.
The study was conducted in Dhemaji district as it is one of the highest tribal population districts of Assam. All the sub-divisions of Dhemaji district were selected for the study. A purposive and random sampling method was followed for the study. The total sample size was 160 consisting of 80 beneficiary and 80 non-beneficiary tribal farmers in the study area. For the present study a total of 12 independent variables, 1 dependent and 1 descriptive variable were selected. Data pertaining to the study were collected through personal interview method during March-April, 2023. Appropriate statistical techniques were used for analysis of data.
The findings with respect to the selected profile characteristics of the respondents indicated that majority of the respondents (58.75 % beneficiaries and 53.75 % non-beneficiaries) belong to middle aged category i.e. 35 years to 55 years. In case of beneficiary respondents 35% had high school level of education and 36.2 % of non-beneficiary respondents had middle school level of education. More than half (60 percent) of the beneficiaries were male while only 40 per cent of the beneficiaries were female. The tradition of joint family system in tribal community was being restored by nuclear families. 63.75 percent of the beneficiary respondents belonged to nuclear family and the remaining 36.25 percent belonged to joint family. In case of non-beneficiary respondents (57.4 %) belonged to nuclear family and the remaining 42.5 percent respondents belonged to joint family. More than 60 % have nuclear family status and the family size is less than 4 members in the family of the respondents. The
major occupations of both the category of respondents were only cultivation, which was one of the reasons of poverty in the area.
The poverty level for both beneficiary and non-beneficiary respondents was measured using the Global Multi dimensional Poverty Index. The Index includes three dimensions viz., Health, Education and Living Standards with ten indicators such as nutrition, child mortality, years of schooling, school attendance, cooking fuel, sanitation, drinking water, electricity, housing, assets. Among the 10 indicators the deprivation of improved cooking fuel (21.92 % in beneficiary and 19.71 % in non-beneficiary) and deprivation of improved sanitation (17.3 % in beneficiary and 17.06 % in non-beneficiary) were two leading contributors to multidimensional poverty index in the study area. The index score of the tribal respondents showed that poverty level of beneficiary (0.146) and non-beneficiary (0.245) is significantly different. The association with the perceived poverty level of the beneficiary was found significant in case of education (r=-0.286), Occupation (r=-0.335), annual income (r=-0.650), Extension contact(r=-0.259) and social participation (r=-0.160) were found to have negative and significant relationship with the deprivation score of the beneficiary group of respondents. The findings also revealed that age(r=0.124), family type(r=0.111), family size(r=0.110), operational land holding(r=0.125), farming experience(r=0.125) were found to have no significant relationship with the deprivation score of the beneficiary respondents of the study area.
The barriers of development stated by the beneficiaries of TSP included delay in obtaining approved benefits/input supply, Non-availability of suggested inputs e.g. varieties/breeds locally after project period, Distance from village to KVK is more, Unavailability of proper guidance regarding adoption of improved agricultural technology, Lack of knowledge about the varieties of crops/ breed of poultry provided, Lack of own capital, Lack of irrigation facilities, Frequent transfer of scientific staff from KVK/RARS, , Need of constant follow up of respective officer, High cost of feed for animals and birds, Lack of knowledge regarding various benefits under TSP, Lack of technical knowledge regarding plant protection appliances, Excessive formalities for institutional credit facilities, Lack of knowledge regarding various documents requires, Lack of technical knowledge regarding use of agricultural inputs, Dominance by few local individuals. Thus, it is concluded that strategies need to be formulated for further refinement of projects aimed at tribal agriculture development in the study area.