Socio-economic status of growers and constraints in banana cultivation in western districts of Assam

Banana is a year-round crop which is valued for energy, vitamin and mineral contents. The climate and soil of Assam are favourable for cultivation of year-round fruits and vegetables. Banana cultivation plays a vital role in providing nutrition, income and employment as well as in poverty alleviation. The present study was done to determine the socio- economic status of banana growers in western districts of Assam viz Bongaogaon, Chirang and Dhubri. For this purpose, 90 farmers were selected from the three different villages of each district. The study revealed that majority of the farmers were in the age of 31-40 years (63.33%); were HSLC qualified (52.22%) and the average family size was 4.46, 3.07 and 5.00 for the small, medium and large families respectively. The overall annual income from banana was Rs 64,400/bigha/annum. A number of problems of banana growers were also identified. Among the major constraints of the farmers, the problems of credit, incidence of pests and diseases, frequent floods, low prices of output, high prices of inputs, lack of improved planting material etc were faced by the farmers. The study suggests addressing the identified problems to make sustainable solutions for the banana growers.