Socio-Economic Profile Analysis of Pisciculture Farmers in Puri District of Odisha, India

Abstract

Pisciculture significantly contributes to food security, nutrition, and rural livelihood in India, the world's second-largest fish producer. Odisha, with its abundant aquatic resources, offers immense potential for pisciculture, particularly in districts like Puri, where it serves as a critical livelihood activity. However, the socio-economic attributes of fish farmers, such as education, income, and resource access, remain inadequately explored, posing challenges to sustainable development in this sector. With this background, the current study was undertaken to evaluate the socio-economic profile of pisciculture farmers in Puri district using an ex-post-facto research design and multi-stage sampling technique with purposive sampling of district, block, village and gram panchayat. Data were collected from 120 randomly sampled respondents through pre-tested, structured interview schedule followed by detailed analysis. Key variables studied included age, caste, education, pond size, annual income, farming experience, family size, house type, type of pond, ownership of pond, extension contact, and information source use. Findings revealed that 49.2% of respondents were young, 71.7% belonged to the general caste, and 35% had education only up to primary school. Most farmers (49.2%) operated ponds of 0.3–0.4 ha, and 31.7% earned annual incomes up to Rs.30,000. Additionally, 71.7% had less than five years of farming experience, while 55% had large families of more than 4 members. Pucca houses (45.80%), seasonal ponds (55.8%) and revenue ponds (44.2%) were owned by the majority. The Assistant Director of Fisheries was the most contacted authority, with newspapers as the primary information source and friends and relatives as the preferred personal information channels. These findings highlight critical socio-economic gaps among fish farmers which need targeted interventions to enhance growth of pisciculture in Puri district.