Nonconvetional Family Farming of Livestock under Constrained Conditions in the States of International Borders in North East India

Constrained by the International Borders of 4,500 kilometer of uneven terrain and connected by a small 22 kilometer “chicken neck” with the mainland of the country; family farming of animal husbandry is at the crossroads today in the North East India due to many reasons against the backdrop of provisions made for the improvement by the Governments both at the Centre as well as in different states. There have been establishment of three National Research Centres (NRC) on Mithun, Yak and Pig by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Government of India. But due to the socio-personal reasons while in case of Yak (Poephagus grunniens) and Mithun (Bos frontalis) progresses have been slow and tardy, pig (Sus scrofa domesticus or Sus domesticus) husbandry has prospered at a commendable speed; so much so, indeed that about 28 per cent of the total pig population in the country is from North East India. Ethnically, culturally and traditionally linked these livestock today need an altogether different approach of extension so that border connections could be exploited for prosperity. Mostly reared in small numbers in family farming, the sector is in jeopardy. Eighty each family farmers in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram were contacted for data collection on mithun, yak and pig husbandry respectively – making the total sample size 240. In analysis it was found that there were significant mean differences in respect of education (F= 72.13**) and family’s annual income (F= 45.45**). The relational analysis had positive and significant relationship between education and annual income from livestock (r=0.23*). In fact, socio personal attributes also contributed high significantly to education (R2=45.95**) and to annual income of the family (R2=58.88**). Therefore, in Rural Advisory System emphasis on educational development and economic growth could be prioritized for the development of the place and people