Study on Assessing the Socio-economic Characters of Banana Cultivating Farmers in Coimbatore and Erode Districts of Tamil Nadu

Abstract

Banana is a staple fruit in almost every Indian meal and also an important commercial crop that adds a considerable amount of dollar in country’s export revenues column. But in recent years the share is in decreasing trend due to some inevitable reasons. So understanding factors influencing banana exporting farmer’s especially among small and marginal farmers is a necessary one. This study tries to understand the socio-economic characteristics of banana farmers in Coimbatore and Erode district. 120 samples were selected randomly and well-structured interview schedule is used to collect data. The results show that most of the farmers were in the age group of 41 – 50 (32.50%) and are illiterate (28.33%) with farm experience of about 26-35 years (35%). Sample farmers largely live as a nuclear family (69.17%) and follow agriculture as a sole occupation (36.67%). Most of the sample farmers were marginal farmers (40.8%) with the annual income range of about 1 lakh to 3 lakh (35.83%). As many of them are small and marginal farmers and are illiterate, it is suggested to conduct number of training programs, tour visit and exhibition to increase the awareness about the export of banana.