Vol. 10, Special Issue 10 (2021)

The present study was undertaken to investigate the pattern of livelihood and to find out the problems faced by the farmers of Char areas of Dhubri district of Assam to improve their livelihood through sound agricultural background. The study was confined to the selected Char areas of the district, namely Faujdar Char, Simlabari and Bamunpara Part IV village. The quantitative study collected information using personal interview of each farmer through a semi-structured questionnaire. A multistage purposive cum random sampling design was followed for the purpose. A total sample of 150 farmers were randomly selected from the three indicated villages during 2021.

This study revealed that farmers were of poor economic condition with low literacy and knowledge about agricultural methods. The average family sizes were observed as 5.46, 4.27, 6.00 and 4.38 per cent for the small, marginal and large farmers, respectively. About 62.50% farmer belong to the age group of 31 to 40 years. While marginal and large farmer represent 73.17 and 46.15%, respectively. Most of the farmers in the char were not well educated. The percentage of illiterate groups were 20.45, 24.48 and 28.57 for the small, marginal and large farmers, respectively. The overall annual income of farmer was recorded as Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 per annum. The problems faced by the farmers have also been identified in this study. Lack of credit facilities, pest and disease incidence, recurring flood, low prices of farm output, high prices of inputs, lack of quality planting material etc. are major problems faced by the farmers in the study areas. It is imperative that the introduction of modern agricultural technologies can uplift the present status of the farming community in the Char areas.