Status of Livelihood Security of Dairy Households in Bundelkhand: A Comparative Analysis

Livestock is an integral part of Indian agriculture. Livestock will continue to play a key role in farming system even in the future. The present study was conducted in Bundelkhand region during 2018-19 to 2020-21 to find out the contribution of livestock to livelihood of dairy farmers of the region. Two districts for each state selected, then, two blocks from each district were selected randomly. Two villages from each block and 20 respondents from each village were randomly selected; thus, making the total sample size of 320 respondents for the study. Duncan’s Multiple Range Test was used for comparative analysis of livelihood security indicators for different category of farmers. Based on existing livelihood activities, the majority of the respondents in each category of farmer depend on farming for their livelihood followed by livestock rearing. Dominant livestock system pursued by marginal farmers was Buffalo+ Goat+ Sheep. Dominant livestock system pursued by small farmers was Buffalo+ Goat. Dominant livestock system pursued by semi-medium, medium and large farmers was cattle+ Buffalo. The results revealed that for more than 55 percent of the household’s income from livestock was the major contributor to gross income accounting for more than 50 percent of the gross income. In case of economic and social security, Small and semi-medium farmers were not significantly different, whereas, marginal, medium and large farmers were significantly different at the 5 percent level of significance. Small, semi-medium and medium farmers were not significantly different, whereas, marginal and large farmers were significantly different based on health, institutional and overall livelihood security at the 5 percent level of significance.