Socio-economic Condition of the Marginal Farmers: A Case Study on Madhupur Sal Forest Area

As an agrarian economy, more than half of the population in Bangladesh belongs to small and marginal farm holding families. We cannot ignore their contribution to the national food supply and agricultural GDP. But in reality, they receive inadequate attention from the agricultural extension services compared to the well-off farmers. To investigate the socio-economic condition of the farmers, 200 farmers from Sholakury village under Madhupur Thana in Tangail District—where 56% of the farmers are landless and marginal, and 42% of the farmers are small—are chosen randomly as the source of data for the current study. This study aims to seek answers to the following question, "Why can the marginal farmers not be able to improve their economic status and why can they not increase the productivity of their cultivable land?” In searching for the answers the study discovers that a majority (83%) of the farmers in this area do not have any training on cultivation. About 75% of farmers use hybrid seeds but 82% of them have never received any training on it. Also, noticeably, 56% of farmers do not have any savings and about 86% of the farmers are unable to use smart-phones and internet. We are ague that among others these are the major factors that worsen the economic status and decrease their productivity. Keywords: Agriculture, Cultivation, Pesticides, Marginal farmers, Land-distribution DOI: 10.7176/DCS/11-5-05 Publication date:May 31st 202