Analysis of livelihood security of tribal farmers

Abstract

Agriculture is the backbone of India and it has traditionally been viewed as a source of subsistence living and livelihood by growing food crops like rice, maize, wheat, millets and pulses etc. The livelihoods among tribal communities in India is complex, dynamic and multidimensional phenomenon, the perception of which varies with geographic location, type of community, age, gender, education, fluctuations in resources, services and infrastructures and social, economic, cultural, ecological and political determinants. The present investigation was carried out in six purposively selected talukas of Tapi district of Gujarat State. From each selected taluka, two villages were selected randomly and from each village, 10 tribal farmers were selected randomly, making the total sample of 120 respondents. An interview schedule was developed in accordance with the objectives of the study. The data were collected through personal interview and were classified, tabulated and analyzed. The study concluded that around half of the respondents were having low level of livelihood security. Except for the Livestock possession variable, respondents’ livelihood security was found to be significant.