Livelihood Analysis of Small Tea Growers by Analysing their Farming Systems and Resource Utilization in Jorhat District

The study was undertaken with the objective to examine the existing farming systems and utilization of resources in Titabar Sub division of Jorhat district, which include two development blocks viz. Titabar development block and Jorhat East development block. Primary data revealed that in the study area, five types farming systems existed viz. Tea, Field & Horticulture crops, Plantation crops excluding tea (FS-I), Tea, Field & Horticulture crops, Plantation crops excluding tea, Fishery (FS-II), Tea, Field & Horticulture crops, Fishery (FS-III), Tea, Field & Horticulture crops (FS-IV) and Tea, Plantation crops excluding tea (FS-V). The variable cost involved in various farming systems was found to be highest in FS-II (Rs. 163946.96 farm-1yr-1) and was lowest in FS-IV (Rs. 52420.20 farm-1yr-1) whereas after undergoing ANOVA single factor analysis of the Benefit Cost ratios, it was found that FS-II has the highest mean value (2.92) and FS-IV has the lowest mean (0.89) which was due to variation in inclusion of different components in the farming systems. Small tea growers of the study area had a wide scope of augmenting the income from their limited farm resources by following proper cultivation practices, moving towards organic tea cultivation, forming farmer producer company through which they can collectively bargain for inputs and sell the tea in a common platform. Involving high yielding varieties of other components, crop rotation, diversification of enterprise, proper utilization of fallow land and market consciousness can help in increasing the income from the other components other than tea.