Livelihood Security of Farm Households under Different Farming Systems in Kolar District of Karnataka — An Economic Analysis

The paper has assessed the livelihood security, economic security, food security, educational security, health security, habitat security and social network security of farming households in Kolar district of Karnataka. Four farming systems, viz. crop+dairy, crop+sericulture, crop+dairy+sericulture and crop+sheep have been identified based on the preliminary survey conducted for the period 2010–11 and previous studies in the area. The data have been analyzed using Garrett ranking technique, Gini co-efficient and conventional economic and simple statistical tabular analysis. The study has revealed that net annual income realized by a household was highest in crop+dairy+sericulture ( 3,58,880) farming system of which 43.78 per cent was from sericulture enterprise alone. It was least in crop+sheep ( 46,281) farming system of which 59.95 per cent was from non-farm activities. Dairy and sericulture enterprises have been found complementary to each other and sustain farm income. Hence crop+dairy+sericulture farming system should be popularized among farmers to strengthen the livelihood security. Public Distribution System (PDS) plays an important role in providing foodgrains at cheaper prices and strengthening household food-security.