Abstract:
Ranges are very important natural resources for livestock production in developing countries including Pakistan. The majority of the rural herders in remote rural areas of the country rely upon livestock grazing on range vegetation in order to sustain their livelihood. However, overgrazing practices have put negative externalities on renewable resources. Keeping in view the importance of range lands for the sustainable livelihood of rural inhabitants, this study, therefore, has been conducted to assess the impact of overgrazing practices on the socio-economic wellbeing of rural communities in Southern, Punjab Pakistan. District Jhang was selected purposively. Tehsil and subsequent union councils were selected randomly. A sample of 120 herders was interviewed using the snowball sampling technique. For data collection, a structured interview schedule was developed in accordance with the research objectives. The collected data were subject to analysis by using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicated that the majority of the sampled population, 97% were linked with grazing practices as the primary source of their livelihood. 59.0%, 55.0%, and 62.0% were illiterate in large, medium, and small herder categories respectively. 45% of herders had their own land, whereas 30% were landless and about 25% were tenants. It has been observed that the source of feeding for livestock in range lands was natural vegetation in form of grasses, bushes, trees, and shrubs. The majority of the small herders were confronted with the problem of lack of credit facilities and the hostile attitude of farmers. It was suggested to the provision of credit facilities and land areas for small herders to overcome their issues.
Page(s):
0-0
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: First International Conference on Revamped Scientific Outlook of 21st Century (Abstract Book), Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2022
Keywords:
Degradation
,
livelihood
,
Range Lands
,
Herders