tailieunhanh - Perception on flood impact and source of employment of farmers in flood affected areas of assam

The present study was conducted in two districts of Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone of Assam namely Jorhat and Majuli district in order to assess the socio-economic profile of flood affected farmers, their employment status and perception on flood impacts. A total of 160 farmers were selected from eight villages of two districts by following proportionate cum random sampling techniques. The findings reveal that majority of the respondents were in between 41-59 years of age with education level upto class VII standard and having 4-6 members in their family with average annual income . Most of the respondents were small farmers with 13-32 years of farming experience mostly follow “paddy+ pulses+ oilseed” type of cropping pattern with average farm productivity qt/ha. The average number of livestock and birds population was 9(nine) per family. Majority of respondents having employment of their family members was ranging from per cent to per cent. The main sources of employment for majority respondents were “farming” followed by “farming + skilled labour activities”. Major flood impacts as perceived by farmers were „increases dependency on mechanical draught power‟ followed by „fodder scarcity for livestock‟ and „introduction of new and better breeds of livestock‟. “Change in cropping pattern” and “reduced income of farmers” were reported the most immediate economic impacts of flood. Population migration, impacts on health and schooling of children, mental and emotional trauma were also reported as social impact of flood. Environmental impacts such as forest degradation, deteriorated water quality, damage to fish habitat and wild life were perceived as major impacts by farmers. | Perception on flood impact and source of employment of farmers in flood affected areas of assam