The Role of Livestock in Poverty Reduction: A Comparative Analysis of Tehsil Wadh and Bela.

Abstract

The study was carried out at tehsil Bela and Wadh using random sampling method. The data was collected from 05 union councils (UC) of each tehsil. From each UC 20 farmers were interviewed. Data was collected out of 200 respondents to complete this survey. The result revealed that a majority of the livestock owners earned Rs. 25,000 – Rs. 30,000 per month, while 29% and 25% of them earned Rs. 20,001 – Rs. 25,000 per month, on average. A majority of the livestock owners (55% and 47%) were of the view that income earned from livestock fulfill their needs while 16% from Wadh and 13% from Bela reported that income received from livestock farming contribute meaningfully to meeting their domestic needs to a much extent. 14% from Wadh and 17% from Bela are of the view that income received from livestock farming fulfilled their domestic needs to an average extent. Regression analysis revealed that livestock ownership significantly improved welfare in form of greater household income. From the regression analysis, it was also found that cows and camel ownership affect household income the most. Thus, cows and camels may be the most important livestock that can be used to improve smallholder farmers’ welfare through suitable policy actions in Pakistan. Based on the findings, the study concludes that livestock production is an integral part of rural farmers in tehsil Bela and Wadh, contributing towards development particularly in those areas. Farmers own livestock as one of the prime income generating source to support their livehood.