Abstract
Agriculture and protected areas are generally perceived as poles apart; however, agriculture has been primary livelihoods for forest dwelling and forest fringe communities of several protected areas of India. Population growth has been exerting tremendous pressure on the agricultural sector to increase productivity with new crops. On the other hand, protected area and resource rights conflicts are also seen as barriers in both effective conservation and acquiring livelihoods. The state of Karnataka, situated in South India, has a number of protected areas and a large portion of its population depends upon agriculture for its livelihood. The current research was conducted in MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka, and aimed to develop an understanding about the role played by agriculture in supporting local livelihoods, different types of crops cultivated and changes in the pattern of crop cultivation. For this purpose, four points (1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020) of time were considered. Data were collected by undertaking questionnaire survey in villages located in and around the Wildlife Sanctuary, during which randomly selected household heads were interviewed. The main analysis was done by taking into account certain demographic aspects and linking them with the agricultural sector. Additionally, an index was also created that took into account of crops cultivated, agricultural land area and production. It was found that agriculture was the chief means of livelihood and 29 different crops were cultivated, out of which 2 (maize and ragi) were predominant. Choice of crops, production and area cultivated rapidly fluctuated, whereas the application of chemical fertilizers has increased. A shift from subsistent agriculture to diversified market-oriented cultivation was observed. As a whole, the findings of the study reveal the importance of agriculture in providing rural livelihoods in fringe villages of protected areas. The study suggests that further actions and planning for protected areas must consider this important aspect of local livelihoods for socio-economic development of indigenous people.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for the support received from the local people and forest department. We extend our sincere thanks to the Science for Equity, Empowerment & Development (SEED) Division,Department of Science & Technology (DST), Technology, New Delhi for financial support. The views expressed in this research article are those of the authors.
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Nautiyal, S., Goswami, M. (2022). Dynamics of Agricultural Livelihoods in Peripheral Villages of a Protected Area in South India. In: Ramamoorthy, S., Buot, I.J., Chandrasekaran, R. (eds) Plant Genetic Resources, Inventory, Collection and Conservation. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7699-4_19
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