An Assessment of Literacy, Income and Health Status of Fishers in Floodplain Wetlands of Assam

Gopalakrishnan, A. et al. (eds.) Renaissance in Fisheries: Outlook and Strategies, 9th Indian Fisheries Forum, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi and Asian Fisheries Society, Indian Branch, 19-23 December 2011, Chennai, India, pp. 295-296

Posted: 27 Jun 2012

See all articles by Ganesh Chandra

Ganesh Chandra

Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute

Pradeep Katiha

Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute

A. Sharma

Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute

Date Written: December 20, 2011

Abstract

Fisheries sector is one the unorganized sector of the country. The information on the socio economic condition of fishers/fish farmers is practically not available and wherever available, their reliability is questioned. Planners and policy makers can make plans and policies for the weaker section only if the estimates are available on regular basis and in reliable manner. The present study was conducted in the year 2010 to have rapid estimates of socio-economic indicators for literacy, health and income for the floodplain wetlands (locally known as beel) fishers. A sample of fifty households from three districts of Assam was surveyed for assessing the literacy and income status of fishers of floodplain wetlands. The data was collected on a well structured questionnaire using personal interview method. The results indicated out of the total population of 263 of the selected respondent household, 58 percent are male members and 42 percent female members. The male female ratio of respondent household on state level is 0.86. The average family size is 5.26 members per family. The age composition reveals that 67 percent of them are adult and 33 percent children. Adult-children ratio in Nagaon, Barpeta and Morigaon district was 52:48, 82:18 and 65:35 respectively.

25.32 percent members of the selected household are illiterate. 21.57, 50.20 and 2.90 percent of the fisher household members have passed primary, secondary and collegiate level respectively. The literacy rate of the sampled beel fishers stood at 75 percent, which is better than the literacy rate of Assam (73.18) and India (74.04) as per the new census of 2011.

According to the field data collected, all the children of the beel fishers’ household have been covered against six preventable diseases, namely, diphtheria, pertusis, childhood tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, measles and neonatal tetanus. The vaccination schedule of the primary health centers has been perfectly followed by the villagers and no report of discontinuation was reported. Primary health centre is 4.16, 3 and 4 km away from the beel fishers household to the primary health centre of Nagaon, Barpeta and Morigaon district.

The weekly income profile of the beel fishers shows that the 74 percent of the income was derived from fishery profession. The income from fisheries is highest from the beel of Morigaon, Rs. 2322/- (89 percent) followed by Barpeta Rs. 1070 (58.23) and Nagon Rs.945.83/- (66.76). The weekly expenditure of the fisher family of Nagon, Morigaon and Barpeta was Rs. 1000, 1184 and 1911 respectively. Food expenditure was highest for the beel fisher family and state level the average expenditure of food component was Rs. 1031.59 i.e. 73.58 percent of the total expenditure. The average saving per household of Nagaon, Barpeta and Morigaon was Rs.416, 652 and 700 respectively.

The problems of the fish farmers are diverse, which should be addressed through a holistic approach to have a sustainable development of this poor rural community.

Keywords: literacy, income, health status, fishers wetland, Assam, expenditure, education

Suggested Citation

Chandra, Ganesh and Katiha, Pradeep and Sharma, A., An Assessment of Literacy, Income and Health Status of Fishers in Floodplain Wetlands of Assam (December 20, 2011). Gopalakrishnan, A. et al. (eds.) Renaissance in Fisheries: Outlook and Strategies, 9th Indian Fisheries Forum, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi and Asian Fisheries Society, Indian Branch, 19-23 December 2011, Chennai, India, pp. 295-296, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2092416

Ganesh Chandra (Contact Author)

Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute ( email )

Monirampur (Post)
Barrackpore, Kolkata 700120
India

HOME PAGE: http://www.cifri.ernet.in

Pradeep Katiha

Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute ( email )

Monirampur (Post)
Barrackpore, Kolkata 700120
India

A. Sharma

Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute ( email )

Monirampur (Post)
Barrackpore, Kolkata 700120
India

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