The main occupation of the rural householdsin the state of West Bengal, India is agriculture. However in this region there are several types of risks associated with the harvesting of crops such as weather, seasonal flooding, unpredictable soil quality, crop diseases, price shocks and forest pests. Under these circumstances, forest acts as a security especially against crop failure. Based on a primary survey of total 300 households covering 9 villages under Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal, India we investigated and analysed the impact of agricultural risks on the collection of common forest products using Count Data Model technique. Empirical evidence of our study reveals that forest products supplement the rural livelihood and acts as safety net for the poor seasonally or during the agricultural crisis.
Agricultural risk, Livelihood, Common Property Forest Resources, Safety net, Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP)
