TEZU, 13 Nov: Over 185 students, faculty members and research scholars participated in a national seminar on ‘Diversification of livelihood of the hill people of India with special reference to northeastern region’, organised by the economics department of Indira Gandhi Government College (IGGC) here in Lohit district on Sunday.
Addressing the attendees, IGGC Principal Dr Kanki Megu said that “most of the northeastern states have agriculture as a livelihood source,” and stressed that “communication and market facilities are essential prerequisites to have export of our goods to boost sustainable economy.”
Assam-based Dibrugarh University’s Social Sciences Dean Professor Deb Kumar Chakraborty said that “livelihood diversification is the need of the hour, specifically in the Northeast, as the people of the region depend on agriculture as their main source of livelihood.”
Dwelling on “the dichotomy of livelihood and Sustainable Development Goals in the context of India,” he said that “livelihood diversification can be done both by a shift from agriculture and through non-agricultural practices,” but added that “high diversification of livelihood does not make sure that there will be high income, for example Punjab and Kerala.”
He presented statistical data of different states, which showed that the NE states have low income and low diversification of livelihood. He also enumerated the factors that hinder rural households from diversifying their livelihood strategies, like age, educational status, sex, credit, land size, social norms, risk variability, etc,” and identified “the factors that motivate rural people in livelihood diversification, like farm size, livestock ownership, participation in leadership, household income, etc.”
Prof Chakraborty also identified the challenges to livelihood diversification, “such as access to market, lack of awareness creation and training services, connectivity, institutions, risk variability, and lack of opportunities in non-farm sector.”
A total of 19 papers were presented by research scholars and faculty members from Doimukh-based Rajiv Gandhi University, Namsai-based Arunachal University of Studies, and Roing (LDV)-based JT Model Degree College. IGGC Commerce Assistant Professor Dr MK Jana and IGGC Economics Assistant Professor Dr Fames Linggi chaired the technical sessions during which the papers were presented.
The seminar was sponsored by the higher & technical education directorate.
