Title: DETERMINANTS OF AGRARIAN DISTRESS MANAGEMENT AMONG FARMERS

Authors: Sanjay V. C., M. R. Bhatt and Basu Anand

Publisher: The President, Society of Extension Education Gujarat

Keywords: Agrarian distress management, indebtedness, family disputes

Volume: 41

Issue: 2

Year: June 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56572/gjoee.2026.41.2.0009

Abstract: Agriculture remains vital to the Indian economy but increasing climatic variability, rising input costs, market fluctuations and limited institutional support have intensified farmers' vulnerability leading to multidimensional agrarian distress. Effective agrarian distress management requires integrated interventions addressing economic insecurity, production risks, environmental stressors and social challenges particularly in South Gujarat where frequent climatic disturbances further aggravate farmers' livelihoods. The present study was conducted to analyse the relationship between farmers' profile characteristics and their agrarian distress management using correlation and regression analysis. The study was conducted in seven districts of South Gujarat namely Bharuch, Surat, Narmada, Tapi, Navsari, Valsad and The Dangs. A total sample of two hundred and eighty farmers were selected through multistage random sampling. Data were collected with structured interview schedule through personal interviews method. The findings revealed that land holding, annual income, extension contact, risk preference and self-confidence showed a positive and highly significant association with agrarian distress management level among the farmers at 1 per cent level of significance, farming experience also exhibited a positive and significant association at 5 per cent level of significance. In contrast, family disputes, indebtedness and credit seeking behaviour showed a negative and highly significant association with agrarian distress management level among the farmers at 1 per cent level. It was also concluded that agrarian distress management level was found to be predicted by nine independent variables namely indebtedness, self-confidence, family disputes, annual income, credit seeking behaviour, risk preference, extension contact, social participation and farming commitment, which together accounted for 44.80 per cent variation in agrarian distress management level among the farmers.