Profile Analysis of Tribal Farmers of Vidarbha Region

In Maharashtra 10.33 million population belonged to tribal’s. Tribal people constitute the most deprived and neglected section of the population of the state, hence the research objective was formulated to study the profile of tribal farmers of Vidarbha region. An exploratory research design of social science was used for the present investigation. Study was conducted in Gadchiroli and Yavatmal districts in the year 2020, with 280 respondents. The findings suggested that, relatively high per cent (44.28%) of the respondents were belonged to middle age (36 to 50 years) group category, more than one fourth (29.30%) of the respondents were educated up to primary school level, nearly half (48.92%) of the respondents concentrated in medium size of family with 5 to 6 members in the family, majority (54.64%) of the respondent tribal farmers were belonged to nuclear type of family, relatively high per cent of the respondents (46.43%) involved in agriculture, majority of the respondent tribal farmers (72.14%) had annual earning up to Rs. 80,000/-, more than half (51.78%) of the respondents had small size of land holding (1.01 to 2.00 ha.), majority (52.85%) of the respondents had medium (24 to 43 years) farming experience, majority (71.43%) of the respondents had medium level of social participation, majority (73.92%) of the respondents were using medium level of sources of information, majority (54.64%) of the respondent tribal farmers belonged to medium innovativeness category, majority (63.92%) of the respondents had medium cosmopolitness in nature, majority (75.71%) of the respondent tribal farmers had medium level of change orientation, whereas 56.07 per cent had medium level of fatalism, more than three fourth of the respondents (78.21%) had derived medium level of benefits.

A Study on Adoption of Indigenous Technical Knowledge Practices among Tribal Farmers in Kolli Hills

Objectives: To make a quantitative study of Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) practices pertinent to crops grown in Kolli hills tribes in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu, India. Methods: The attempt was made to study the adoption level of the interpreted ITKs among Kolli hills tribes. The Kolli hill was picked purposively for its uniqueness in continuing their traditions age old practices in farming practices by the tribes. The present study has been carried out in the Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu state. The Namakkal district was administratively divided into seven taluks and fifteen blocks. Among these seven taluks and fifteen blocks, higher populations of tribes were seen at Kolli hills. For the selection of the respondents based on the proportionate random sampling technique and the data were collected from each respondent through personal interview method. The study was carried during 2019 with 150 respondents in highly populated villages of Kolli hills. The Adoption index was used to analyse the adoption level of the ITK’s by the tribes. Findings: More than half of the respondents (55.56 per cent) had a medium level of knowledge followed by high (25.10 per cent) and low (19.34 per cent) levels of knowledge on indigenous cultivation practices. Conclusion: Indigenous technical knowledge has a substantial heritage in agrarian civilization. The findings highlight the effectiveness of indigenous technical knowledge above its modern equivalent. Thus, extension workers should identify and incorporate them in the technology transfer action in order to ensure long-term or sustainable agricultural development.

Status and Development of Exotic Crops in Khandesh Region of Maharashtra (India): A Plea for Agrobiodiversity Conservation

Selective utilization of limited crop species threatened some other crop species. This trend rendered some crop species into underutilised grain crops throughout. At this backdrop, the present authors inventorised agrobioversity in Khandesh region of Maharashtra(India). The area was visited in different seasons. The tribal farmers were interviewed to tap down information with respect to agroclimate, yield, characteristic features etc. Actual field visits were also made in study area. The crop species were deciphered using standard state, regional and district floras, besides the manuals and cyclopedia of cultivated plants. Total 17 exotic crop species were investigated belonging to cereals, millets, pulses and edible oil-yielders. The data accrued has been evaluated with the relevant national and international scenario. A need for their conservation is earmarked with particular emphasis on underutilised millets. The subject-matter is further dilated in view of their importance for the welfare tribal people in the area and developing countries.

Socio-personal and Economic Profile of Tribal Farmers Practicing Indigenous Technical Knowledge in Ranchi district of Jharkhand

The present study has been undertaken during 2019-2020 to appraise the socio-personal and economic profile of tribal farmers of Ranchi district of Jharkhand. Four villages were randomly selected from the two purposively selected blocks namely Tamar and Angara blocks of Ranchi district of Jharkhand state. The data were collected from 45 randomly selected tribal farmers practicing ITKs pertaining to pest and disease management by personal interviewing the respondents through a well tested structured interview schedule, who were considered as tribal key informants. The findings revealed that majority of the key informants were females (60%) belonging to old age group (71.11%) of Oraon community (46.66%). Majority of the respondents had education upto primary level only (31.12%), whereas about 30 per cent of them were either illiterate or could read and write only. Highest proportion of the key informants had marginal size of land holding with long farming experience (57.78%). Altogether one-third of the respondents had membership of only one organisation and 42.22 per cent of them were not associated with any formal organisation. Majority of the respondents had low level of risk-orientation (57.77%) and innovativeness (60%). Interventions on education, training and technology were suggested as the suitable measures for raising their socio-economic status.

FACTORS INFLUENCING TRIBAL FARMERS TO SHIFT FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERN AGRICULTURE IN WAYANAD DISTRICT OF KERALA

Agriculture has always been a way of life and culture for the traditional farmers. The major occupation of the tribal communities has always been agriculture. The pressure to meet the growing demands of the increasing population forced countries like India to adopt modern methods of farming. This gradually brought about changes in the ancient farming systems that existed in the Country. Kurichiya tribal community in Wayanad district of Kerala is the first agricultural community in the district and has an important role in the agricultural sector of the State. Today, changes have taken place in various aspects of the farming they follow, as a result of influence fro0m several factors. The study was conducted in Wayanad district of Kerala purposively for analyzing the socio-economic profile and the association of selected independent variables with factors influencing the Kurichiya tribal farmers to shift from traditional to modern agricultural system. The study was conducted using Descriptive research design. A total of 120 respondents were selected for the study. Pre-tested schedule was used for collection of data and statistical tools were used for analyzing. Karl Pearsons’s Co-efficient of Correlation test was used to find the association between independent variables and factors influencing the respondents. The important findings of the study were that the factors influencing had a highly significant and positive relationship with Education, Mass Media exposure and Progressiveness.

Institutional support for tribal farmer interest groups in Erode district of Tamil Nadu, India

Globally small and marginal tribal farmers situation is worse because of poor marketing system and lack of quality input and technical services. This worse situation can be empowered through group approach like Farmer Producer Organization (FPO), Farmers Interest Group (FIG) and Self Help Group (SHG). FIG is a self-managed, independent group of farmers with a shared goal and interest. This is usually formed by 15-20 members. It is evidenced that the profitability in farming would be possible in groups rather than practising it individually. This is particularly the case where farmers organize themselves to respond to credit and input needs, marketing concerns, etc., as there are clear economic benefits of working in groups. The present study is aimed to investigate the level of institutional support for tribal Farmer Interest Groups (FIGs) in Erode district. A cent per cent of the respondents (100.00%) admitted that they received support for getting information regarding input availability, subsidiary activities, various schemes of the state department of agriculture. The vast majority of the respondents received information on technical support on production aspects of crop production (98.00%) and received credit support whenever needed (98.00%). Institutions like NGOs, State Department of Agriculture played a major role in improving the standard of living of these tribal people. They received support from the institution from production to marketing and value addition. However, they did not get proper guidance for soil testing and quality testing of inputs. Because of remoteness, they received a medium level of institutional support.

"Integrated Farming System: A Profitable Venture for Tribal farmers in Southern Rajasthan"

The present study was conducted to evaluate the improved integrated farming system performance at the fields of 30 selected tribal farmers of three selected villages of Vallabhnagar tehsil of Udaipur district (Rajasthan) during 2018-19 and compared with the benchmark year 2015-16. Various interventions from MPUAT experts were provided regarding inputs and their timely use and the training programs for these farmers. It was concluded that during 2018-19 FS IV (Crop + Dairy + Vegetable) and FS V (Crop + Dairy + Vegetable + Fruit Orchard) were highly efficient as these systems gave the highest returns per rupee of investment. In contrast, FS VIII (Crop + Dairy + Goat + Vegetable + Fruit Orchard) was efficient in terms of employment generation as it leads to the generation of 463 man-days. As a result, higher profitability and productivity with the lesser cost of cultivation of improved integrated farming system were obtained compared to the existing integrated farming system during the benchmark year.

Ethno Veterinary Therapeutic Practices of Medicinal Flora in Livestock Health Care by Attappadi Tribal farmers of Kerala

Background- Attappadi is the largest tribal settlement area in Kerala with three tribes viz., Irulas, Mudugas and Kurumbas who are traditionally engaged in livestock activities. The present study was undertaken to document the different plants of ethnoveterinary uses and to identify the most prevailing livestock disease category among livestock farmers of Attappadi tribal area. Hence this study was designed and conducted to understand and effectively use the knowledge, and for the proper selection of important plant species for the most prevailing illness.Methods- This study was conducted in the period of December 2018 – April 19 using a structured interview with tribal farmers, EVM healers and key informants engaged in the livestock farming.Results- The present study documented 55 plant species under 39 families for treatment of 15 categories of ailments with their dosages and parts used in Attappadi tribal area. There was great agreement among the informants regarding ethno veterinary uses of plants with Factor of Informants Consensus (FIC) value ranging from 0.50 to 0.97, with an average value of 0.87.Conclusion- The study reports 55 medicinal plants with the­­­­­­ir uses and dosage along with the highlighted high FIC values indicates that the species traditionally used to treat these ailments are worth searching for bioactive compounds and this has illuminated the cultural importance of this ethno veterinary wisdom which is consonantly blended with the tribal culture of the area.