Planning for enhanching employment generation through agriculture in Sareikella-Kharsawan district : a case of Jharkhand state

Abstract

Agriculture is the largest sector in many developing countries. 98 % of the total geographical area of India constitutes rural areas, in which 74 % of the total population lives. But due to changes in the geographical area, cropping pattern, ground water potential, climate, etc. the agriculture sector is highly getting affected. As a source of livelihood, agriculture (including forestry and fishing) remains the largest sector of Indian Economy. But in recent times, output share of agriculture fell from 28.3% in 1993-94 to 14.4% in 2011-12 which led to a decline in employment share from 64.8% to 48.9% over the same period. The lack of mechanized farming in India led to a reduction of income earning opportunities among the primary workers. The significance of this topic lies in the fact that almost half of the workforce in India is dependent on agriculture hence possibilities should be found out to enhance the livelihood opportunities of primary workers. The aim of the thesis is to prepare the planning strategies for enhancing employment generation of Sareikella – Kharsawan District in Jharkhand State. The main objectives of the study as follows:- 1. To analyze the existing situation of the workforce in Sareikella - Kharsawan District in Block wise level. 2. To find the status of agriculture scenario of the Block in the district. 3. Gap identification with regards to available skills, education in rural. 4. Proposal for enhancement of employment generation to meet the gap requirement of District. The methodology was carried by primary and secondary sectors. In which the data was collected from different block of the district of different sectors, the documented data collected online and maps was collected from jharkhand Space Center from website which was then generated in GIS software by myself. And the analysis was on the bases of maps, charts and figures in blocks of the district. The area selected for conducting the study is Sareikella – Kharsawan District which got separated from Jharkhand State in 2001. Sareikella – Kharsawan District was identified as one of the backward regions from 24 districts of Jharkhand State. The paper identifies the important aspects for enhancing employment generation through agriculture for primary workers. First, cropping patterns in different blocks of the district were identified followed by determining the agriculture productivity, output per hectare, etc. which was then compared to all blocks of the district. Major findings of the problems faced by the sector include low and poor access to modern technology in recent times. Second, the fragmentation of land holdings forced the farmers to look for better job opportunities. Productivity in land holdings of marginal size is low due to erratic rainfall and lack of irrigation facilities. The proposal was given on the bases of agriculture enhancement and skill development in different sectors of the district. The conclusions were given on the bases of proposals only.