Factors Affecting Extent of Haor Livelihood Diversification in Sunamganj District, Bangladesh

Abstract

The present study aims to examine the contribution of fishing in total income and extent ofhaor livelihood diversification; and identify the factors affecting haorlivelihood diversification of the fishing community. This study was conducted in Dekhar Haor of Sunamganj district. The data were collected from primary sources by using Simple random sampling from 100 respondents. Tobit model was used to determine the factors affecting the livelihood diversification. Fishing contributed highest to the household income. The estimated Simpson Index showed that fishermen have diversified their livelihood activities at medium level. The results showed that age of the respondents, years of schooling, access to credit and savings had positive effect, while, mode of land ownership, distance from the nearest market and value of household’s assets had negative effects on livelihood diversification. Non-farm employment opportunities should be expanded to increasehaor livelihood diversification.