Socio Economic Profile of Sheep Reared Dhangar Pastoralists of Maharashtra, India

Abstract

Pastoral societies have revived strong and renewed interest among the social scientist. Pastoralism is a subsistence pattern in which people make their living by domesticating large herds of animals. The pastoral subsistence economy provides an adaptation to such conditions since it promotes the conversion of the low quality plant resources into portable, high quality animal foods. However, the overall low level of energy availability necessitates low population density and high mobility among pastoral population. The study deals with Dhanger pastoral groups of Maharashtra state raise herds of sheep. These societies use animals as providers of food, fuel, fiber, draught power and transportation. However, nomadic, seminomadic and transhumant pastoralist societies have lifestyles that revolve mainly around their livestock. The transhumant pastoral societies inhabiting the areas exploit the seasonal abundance of grazing areas. Many of them left their traditional transhumant way of life and settled along valleys. Some have settled in urban areas others stick to the pastoral activities by changing the composition of livestock by increasing number of goats, cattle, buffalo and decreasing number of Sheep. State policies regarding forests, agriculture, irrigation, fodder, famine, pastoral rights and migration are some of the mechanisms that contribute to the alteration of pastoral life-style. The qualitative information was collected from 120 Dhanger sheep pastoralists from 12 selected villages of Sangli and Kolhapur district of Maharashtra. Socio economic profile of Dhangar pastoralist i.e age, family type, family size, education status, land holding, annual income, sheep ownership and sources of inform were studied.