THE TRACTOR IMPACT IN THE RURAL AREA OF DISTRICT PESHAWAR

The study was conducted with the aim to analyze the tractor impact in rural area of district Peshawar, NWFP, Pakistan. The study was carried out in Feb 2008. Ten percent of the total population (1385) i.e. 138 households were selected through systematic random sampling. There were total 19 tractors in the research area (1.3%). The job of tractor is ploughing, leveling, threshing and transportation etc. Tractor has increased the income level of the tractor owners and has brought social and economic changes in the project area. Owners have changed their life style (62%) and living standard (53%). Majority of the owners (76%) send their children to private schools rather than government schools. People used tractors for carrying the dead body to graveyard (92%), in marriage procession (93%), for making of kacha roads (96%), for leveling village streets (93%) and for making bridges on rivers and canals on POL charges or on free(100%) basis in the project area. Tractor had played an important role in natural disaster and had facilitated the school going children, disable persons and women as well as who go to schools and nearby markets by tractor trolly (100%). Fifty three percent of the respondents called it an expensive and 47% of the respondents have no problem in purchasing a tractor. Finding of the study reveals that tractor installation has speed up the development activities not only in agriculture sector but also in other sector of the project area