Socio–economic Profile of Rice Farmers: A Study of West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh

A. Samarpitha; Dr. N. Vasudev; Dr. K. Suhasini; Dr. I. Sreenivasa Rao; Sri. M. H. V. Bhave

Volume : V, Issue : I, January - 2016

Socio–economic Profile of Rice Farmers: A Study of West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh

A. Samarpitha, Dr. N. Vasudev, Dr. K. Suhasini, Dr. I. Sreenivasa Rao, Sri. M. H. V. Bhave

Abstract :

India has made impressive strides on the agricultural front during the last three decades. Much of the credit for this success should go to the several million small farming families that form the backbone of Indian agriculture and economy. Increased agricultural productivity and rapid industrial growth in the recent years have contributed to a significant reduction in poverty level, from 55 percent in 1973 to 26 percent in 1998. Despite the impressive growth and development, India is still home to the largest number of poor people of the world. India will be required to produce more and more from less and less land and water resources. Alarming rates of ground water depletion and serious environmental and social problems of some of the major irrigation projects on one hand. In fact irrigation has proved a catalyst of improved agriculture in certain large areas of the country, especially where cash crops are grown. Investment on irrigation leads to multiple benefits both at the micro and at the macro levels. In the present study aim has been made to study socio economic impact of the irrigated area with that of the unirrigated area. There is a large difference in the socio economic status between the two said situations, where in one place, due to irrigation there is economic progress and in other it is static or with little change. However, with this economic change we expect to see a gradual change in the social, cultural and traditional front.