Augmentation of the tribal economy through the livestock-based farming system in the rural areas of Odisha

This paper analyses the profitability of livestock-based farming systems for improving the tribal economy in the rural areas of Odisha. The analysis is based on primary data collected through a sample of 240 farmers in 201718 from four districts of Odisha. Three main farming systems-cattle-based, goat-based and pig-based-are identified; many farmers have adopted the cattle-and goat-based farming systems. The pig-based farming system is less popular due to the incidence of swine flu. Various subsystems under these three main systems are identified and seven different systems are considered for the analysis. The profitability of the systems is analysed through cost and return estimation. The farming system FS-II-which includes cattle, crop and other enterprises (poultry and goat)-has the highest net return. The benefit-cost ratio for the farming systems I, II, III, IV, V, VI and VII are, respectively, 1.11, 1.28, 1.09, 1.62, 1.35, 1.35 and 0.83. Thus, all the systems indicate a positive return; the FS-IV is the most profitable system, while the FS-VII shows a negative return and its benefit-cost ratio is less than one.