Training needs of tribal youth in selected agricultural enterprises: An analytical study in Odisha State, India
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Date
2019-11
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G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand)
Abstract
Tribal youth form a considerable part of the country’s tribal population. A significant proportion of tribal youth faces the risks related to education, employment, training, drug and alcohol addiction, illiteracy, malnutrition, powerlessness, etc. Making tribal youth employable is a big challenge and the government is putting efforts towards conducting skill-based training but still, there is a lack of proper strategy. Employing tribal youth would maximize their chance to contribute to a nation’s economic, social and cultural advancement. Special attention is needed to be given to agricultural education, vocational training, and livelihood generation in order to gain the attention and interests of tribal youth. This study attempted to study the socio-psychological situation, economic and communication characteristics of tribal youth, training needs of tribal youth in selected agricultural enterprises, their constraints in choosing agricultural enterprises, the relationship between selected profile characteristics of tribal youth and training needs and designing a training module.
The descriptive and analytical research design was used to meet the objectives of the study. The study was purposively carried out in Koraput district of Odisha. Three blocks viz. Laxmipur block, Narayanpatna block and Bandhugaon block were selected randomly. Villages viz. Laxmipur, Barasanka, Buruja and Pipalpadar from Laxmipur block, Villages viz. Balipeta, Dakapura, Narayanpatna, Parapadar from Narayanpatna block and villages viz. Sanasarapalli, Almonda, Jagugura and Sorabari from Bandhugaon block of Koraput district were selected for the study purposively. 246 tribal youth were selected through proportional allocation from the selected villages by using Cochran’s formula. Pre-tested interview schedule and non-participant observation were used for data collection. Photographs and videos were also used for in-depth insight into the research matter. The data collected were coded, tabulated, analysed and interpreted with the help of appropriate statistical procedures and techniques like mean, weighted mean, frequency, standard deviation, percentages, correlation, t- test and multiple regression.
The findings of the study revealed that the majority of tribal youth were in the age group of 20-32 years, males, mostly married, had educational qualifications up to high school level, had a medium-sized nuclear family and were involved in farming with experience of participation in a single agricultural training. Their favourite pass time activities included economic and self-employing works, vocational activities and social media utilization. The majority of them actively participated as members of cooperative societies and youth clubs. Despite this, the majority of tribal youth had a low level of social participation. Tribal youth preferred to work in others’ fields, to sell vegetables and to collect firewood as their off-farm activities. The majority of tribal youth had a favourable attitude towards agriculture followed by a high willingness to start an agricultural enterprise and a high level of risk preference. They had a medium level of innovativeness, leadership ability and achievement motivation followed by low decision-making ability. Tribal youth sought information from their friends, from agricultural officers and Krishi Melas organized at various places as information-seeking behaviour from personal localite sources, personal cosmopolite sources, and extension education methods respectively. Overall, the tribal youth had medium information-seeking behaviour and their mass media exposure was low. Lack of role model, lack of faith from old family members, lack of diffusion of improved agricultural technology, profit not in harmony with efforts and lack of extension activities were highest rated individual, social, technological, economic, and miscellaneous constraints respectively. Based on training areas preference, mushroom cultivation (WMS=2.38) was the most preferred enterprise by tribal youth followed by organic crop production (WMS=1.87), medicinal and aromatic plants (WMS=1.85), vegetable crops (1.80), bee-keeping (WMS=1.79), dairy farming (WMS=1.78), on-farm production of inputs (WMS=1.77), fruit crops (WMS=1.75), agricultural engineering (WMS=1.70) and sericulture (WMS=1.59). Training needs of tribal youth in subareas of major vocations were also calculated through the Borich model of training need assessment in two dimensions viz. knowledge and performance dimension. It was further found that the village was the most favorable place for receiving training for about 7-15 days in a group of 21-30 members in the evening hours from October to December. Scientists and grass-root extension workers were preferred the most for conducting regularized agricultural training. Tribal youth preferred a free of cost training with a combination of theory and practical along with periodic follow-up visits by trainers for monitoring their progress.
Occupation, participation in off-farm activities, family size participation in agricultural trainings, agricultural enterprise preference, willingness to start enterprise, innovativeness, leadership ability, risk preference, achievement motivation, decision making ability, attitude of tribal youth towards agriculture, information-seeking behaviour and mass media exposure had significant relationship with training needs of tribal youth in agricultural enterprises. Training module for mushroom cultivation was prepared based on the highest enterprise preference of tribal youth for catering to their training needs.
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