Livelihood Issues and Strategies for Diversification of the Fisherfolk and Lakeshore Farmers in Loktak Wetland, India

Ongtham Singh, Manipur University
Avijit Mistri, Manipur University

Loktak Lake, a Ramsar site of international importance in Northeast India, is famous for its magnificent biodiversity and supports the livelihoods of thousands of people in the Indian state of Manipur. The ecology of the wetland is of concern, affecting fishing and farming. The present study highlights livelihood risks, identifies diversification strategies and analyses the determinants. Data was collected through key informant interviews (KIIs) and field surveys of 600 households from 12 sample villages from islands and lakeshore areas. Livelihood risks are identified using thematic analysis and participatory risk mapping, and an ordinal logistic regression model is designed to determine the factors affecting the livelihood diversification of households. The predominant risks in fishing are decreasing fish population and seasonality, phumdis proliferation, water pollution, and declining depth. Farming risks include submergence of agro-land, irregular rainfall and irrigational issues, unavailability of farming inputs, and market risk. The sectors that comprise livelihood strategies adopted by the households are primary (22.5%), primary+secondary (29.7%), primary+tertiary (25.8%), and primary +secondary+tertiary (22.0%). Perceived risks in fishing and farming, household size, dependency ratio and income, wealth quintiles, livestock, land holding, migration status, and village location significantly explain the likelihood of livelihood diversification of the households.

Keywords: Economic Demography, Human Capital, Education, and Work, Social network methods, The Demography of Indigenous Populations

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