SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF AGROFORESTRY PRACTICES IN EASTERN REGION OF WEST SINGHBHUM DISTRICT, JHARKHAND
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Date
2022
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Birsa Agricultural University, Ranchi
Abstract
The present study entitled “Socio-economic analysis of Agroforestry practices in Eastern region of West Singhbhum District, Jharkhand” was conducted with 320 randomly selected respondents in its four blocks during the year 2018-19. The selected blocks were Jaggnathpur, Khuntpani, Manjhari and Tonto. From each block 4 villages were selected and from each village, 20 respondents were selected by adopting random sampling procedure. Thus, the total sample consisted of 320 respondents for the study. A pre-tested interview schedule was used to collect the data from the respondents by personal interview method. Data were tabulated and analyzed by using statistical techniques like chi-square test, percentage, mean, standard deviation, correlation analysis, wherever suitable.
Majority of farmers (60.93%) belonged to middle age group (35 to 50 years), (17.81%) of respondents were illiterates and (37.18%) had matric level education. The male respondents (83.43%) were dominant. Among the caste profile, (85.31%) are Schedule tribe followed by (9.37%) Schedule caste in the study area. Majority of respondents (88. 75%) belonged to nuclear family. The medium sizes of family were 68.43% followed by small family size i.e., 24.68%. 86.25% of the respondents had self-owned farm type. The majority of respondent had small size of land (87.18%). 87.81% had highest material status and 71.56% of farmers had medium farm power status (country plough). The annual income had highest through agriculture production (71.88%), followed by (15.93%) through agroforestry.
About 33.75% of farmers had medium scientific orientation. The other motivation of respondents towards other factors were as follows; economic motivation (30.63%), achievement motivation (28.44%), risk orientation (67.81%) and credit orientation (73.75%). Almost 44.38% of farmers had high social participation and 40.31% had low mass media participation. The respondent had highest extension participation (70.63%), 19.38% had medium and 4.06% had low extension participation. About 45.93% of farmers had average perception followed by 17.50% and 5.93% had good and poor perception towards agroforestry.
Considerable percentage of farmers (15.63%) had favorable attitude, while 14.37% had more and 8.75% had less favorable attitude towards agroforestry. Minority of farmers had adopted agroforestry, during the year 2018-19 and they are practicing agrisilvihorticultural system in half to one acre of cultivable land with the main purpose of meeting fuel wood demand. Majority were having mixed plantation depending on rainfall. Seedlings in the plantations were survived mainly due to timely planting of healthy seedlings and good maintenance by the farmers.
The findings about the constraints faced by the farmers revealed that a large proportion of farmers (92.00%) had expressed no immediate returns from forest trees, lack of irrigation/water facility (88.00%), and lack of knowledge on package of practices (82.00%) as the major constraints. About 36.00% and 34.00% of farmers displeased with marketing facilities and less land holding respectively. Lack of interest in proper
maintenance, animal menace and lack of extension services were viewed similarly as the main constraints by 21.00%, 19.00% and 16.00% of farmers respectively.
A large majority of farmers suggested for supply of short duration tree species (93.00%) and irrigation facility (82.00%), while (67.00%) and (64.00%) of farmers suggested for adequate technical guidance and marketing facilities, respectively. A small proportion of farmers also suggested timely availability of seedlings (10.00%), provision to have bank loan facilities (14.00%) and compensation for the damage caused by wild animals (7.00%) for effective/full adoption of agroforestry.
The study pointed out that there is a further scope for improvement in perception level as well as creating more favorable attitude of farmers towards agroforestry, extension functionaries and concerned organizations, which should intensify their efforts in increasing the perception level of farmers and also to build up the farmer’s attitude, more favorably towards agroforestry. In this regard, variables related to perception level and attitude could be advantageously manipulated in order to increase farmer’s perception as well as to mould their attitude in favorable manner.
It was found that there was a big gap in full adoption of all recommended agroforestry practices. In order to bridge this, extension agency should further intensify the extension activities through use of appropriate extension teaching methods like demonstrations, training, panel discussion, meeting etc., to motivate them and adopt crucial practices such as fertilizer application, bio-fertilizer inoculation, pre-treatment of hard coated seeds, silvicultural management practices and tree harvesting techniques. Such educational approach would enable them to adopt recommended agroforestry practices and also helps to share the experiences and relevant information with fellow tribal farmers by having group discussion with the women in respective villages.
The present study revealed that independent variables of the farmers namely education, agroforestry practices, annual income, scientific orientation, achievement motivation, economic motivation, risk orientation, credit orientation, social participation, mass media participation and extension participation had positive and significant association with dependent variables. Hence, the extension agency should give due consideration to these variables for better results of the developmental programmes in general and agroforestry programmes in particular.
The study is a pioneering attempt to study the impact of agroforestry on farmers in a comprehensive way. Therefore, it is suggested that further investigation may be taken up in different region of the State with varying social, economic and ecological background. This will help to make valid and generalization regarding the impact of agroforestry, which could be of immense significance in replicating future development programmes. The independent variables included in the study could explain the variation in the level of perception, attitude and adoption, respectively. Hence, there is a need to identify and include more variables of personal, socio-economic, psychological and communication characteristics in the study area which influences the perception, attitude and adoption behavior of farmers.