Socio-economic analysis of fish farmers with special reference to constraints in aquaculture practices in Nuapada district, Odisha

Résumé fourni par la source

A comprehensive socio-economic survey of 130 inland fish farmers was conducted in the drought-prone Nuapada district of Odisha, India, to evaluate their socio-economic profile, identify critical constraints hindering aquaculture expansion, and establish empirical relationships between socio-economic parameters and farm productivity. Primary data were gathered through a pre-tested structured interview schedule administered across three randomly selected blocks. Pearson correlation analysis indicated that training exposure (r = 0.62, p < 0.01), pond size (r = 0.58, p < 0.01), and institutional credit access (r = 0.53, p < 0.01) exhibited the strongest positive and statistically significant relationships with fish productivity. Garrett's ranking technique identified water scarcity (mean score: 82.40) as the paramount operational constraint, followed by high commercial feed costs (78.60), poor quality seed supply (72.30), lack of extension and technical guidance (69.50), and market price volatility (65.20). The empirical findings revealed a mean fish productivity of 2,850 kg/ha/year and a mean annual net income of rupees 1,85,000 per aquaculture household. The study demonstrates that multi-pronged institutional support focusing on water harvesting infrastructure, quality input delivery, capacity building, and institutional credit is indispensable for transforming smallholder aquaculture into a sustainable and resilient rural livelihood strategy in drought-vulnerable agro-ecosystems.

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