Socio-economic profile of Rohilkhandi cattle farmers in the upper Gangetic plains of Northwestern Uttar Pradesh

Abstract:

Indigenous cattle have been an essential part of traditional agriculture and have contributed significantly from a social, cultural, emotional and ecological perspective in addition to their contributions to the economy and means of livelihood. The present study was conducted to assess the socio-economic characteristics and herd structure of farmers rearing Rohilkhandi breed of cattle in the Rohilkhand region of Uttar Pradesh. A total of 450 respondents were selected from the study area and via structured questionnaires and personal interviews information was collected on various socioeconomic and sociopersonal variables. The findings revealed that the majority of respondents (61.5%) belonged to the middle age group (31–50 years) and most were male (89.58%). A large proportion of farmers belonged to Other Backward Classes (81.4%) and followed the Hindu religion (97.9%). In terms of education, 37.3% of respondents had completed secondary education, while 24.0% were illiterate. Joint family systems were slightly more prevalent (51.6%) than nuclear families (48.4%), with medium family size (49.0%) being the most common. Agriculture was the primary occupation for the majority of respondents (70.7%), while animal husbandry served as a major secondary occupation (51.9%). Most farmers had high levels of livestock rearing experience (38.0%) and very high dairying experience (36.5%). The herd size was predominantly small, with 85.7% of farmers maintaining 1–3 animals, reflecting the smallholder nature of livestock production systems in the region. Indigenous cattle alone constituted the most common herd composition (35.1%), followed by mixed herds of indigenous cattle and buffalo (30.0%). Landholding patterns indicated that most respondents belonged to marginal (38.22%) and small (34.89%) categories and the majority had low annual income levels (81.7%). Mobile phones (76.0%) and radio or television (54.7%) were the primary sources of information regarding livestock management. Overall, the study highlights the dominance of smallholder farmers practicing mixed crop–livestock farming and underscores the importance of indigenous cattle in sustaining rural livelihoods, nutritional security and agricultural sustainability in the Rohilkhand region.