ShodhPatra: International Journal of Science and Humanities

A Study on Factors Influencing Economic Sustainability of Maize Cultivation in Char Regions of Assam, India

Abstract This paper deals with the measurement of the economic sustainability of maize cultivation and the factors influencing it in the char region (small riverine islands or sandy bars located in the vicinity of the river basin) of Assam, India. To do so, a total of 674 maize cultivators were sampled covering both char and non-char (higher plain) regions. The char regions are characterized by flooding and waterlogging during the monsoons, which leads to soil erosion and sand deposition on cultivable land, rendering cultivation impossible in the summer months. In this connection, it may be mentioned that cultivators belonging to the char region usually have little to no income in the summer months. However, in the char region, wide-scale maize cultivation has been observed during the winter months. In fact, the present study found higher rate of economic viability in char region’s maize cultivators compared to non-char regions, which stood at 61.03 percent and 37.54 percent for the former and latter, respectively. The results indicate that the farmer with a higher level of education, longer farming experience, better access to irrigation, institutional credit, char regions and farm size are has positive influence, while dependency ratio, better financial status and alternative occupations have negative and significant influence on it. Hence, we call for a policy implication that these constraints be solved to enhance the income of these char cultivators in general and maize cultivators in particular. Keywords: Char region, Economic Sustainability, Assam, Maize Cultivation and logit-probit.