Multidimensional Poverty among horticulture farmers: A Case Study of Pineapple Cultivation in Cachar District, Assam

The present research presents a case study of welfare outcomes among the horticulture farmers from the Hmar-dominated tribal area of the Lakhipur sub-division of the Cachar district in Assam. Using primary data collected from 335 farming households, the study attempts to evaluate the extent and character of poverty among the indigenous tribes of the region. By using a combination of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Multidimensional Poverty Measure (MPM) of the World Bank, the study contributes to the literature by developing a Composite Welfare Indicator (CWI) based on Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), thereby facilitating a data-driven and holistic view of deprivation. The study finds that the incidence of multidimensional poverty is much higher than that reflected by monetary measures, thereby alluding to the inability of monetary measures to capture the full extent of deprivation in key capabilities. The severe shortage of sanitation, drinking water and health infrastructure in the study area clearly underscores the need for public interventions to reduce deprivation in these spheres. There is also evidence of sizeable asset poverty in the region, reflecting low living standards. The results indicate that households that depend solely on income from farming experience greater poverty than households that have diversified sources of income. This underscores the need for specific support measures for farmers in the form of Minimum Support Prices and crop insurance, along with efforts to enhance the scope for value addition in agriculture. The regression model estimated for identifying the determinants of poverty shows that outreach activities in the form of extension services and training help reduce the incidence of poverty among pineapple farmers.