Analysis of Agriculture and Allied Activitiesofruralyouthinnorthern Karnataka
- M Sc (Agr)
- Dharwad University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad 2024
- 195 32 Cms
The study was conducted in Dharwad and Gadag districts of Karnataka during 2023- 2024, to analyse agriculture and allied activities undertaken by rural youth. The “Ex-post facto” research design was adopted, two taluks from each district and two village from each talukwererandomlyselected.Then,20rural youth fromeachvillagewere randomlyselected, resulting in a total sample size of 160. Data were collected through personal interviewmethod. The findings revealed that all the rural youth were undertaking agriculture followed by56.87percentofruralyouthundertakingdairyactivities,sheepandgoatrearing(12.50%), poultry (6.88 %), agricultural labour (6.88 %), non-agricultural labour (5.63 %) and horticulture (5.00 %). The study identified most profitable crops were sugarcane during the Kharif season and cabbage in the Rabi season. While improved cattle yielded the highest returns in dairy farming. Allied activities like sheep and goat rearing, as well as backyard poultry, also provided notable profits. Non-agricultural activities, such as petty shops and wage labour contributed to the overall income. The study highlighted that government schemes to support agriculture and allied activities, ancestral land and personal interest were the main factors that motivated rural youth to remain in agriculture and allied activities. However, the youth faced challenges such as a lack of irrigation facilities, negative attitudes towards agriculture, low labour efficiency and difficulty in storing produce for better market prices. Suggestions made by the youth included timely release of crop insurance, fostering positive attitudes towards agriculture, improving irrigation facilities and ensuring timely availability of necessary inputs like seeds. These measures could significantly improve youth engagement and profitability in agriculture and allied activities.