A Study on the Perceived Benefits of Farm forestry in Terms of some Socio-economic and Motivational Correlates in Cooch Behar District of West Bengal

Abstract

The propagation and sustenance of farm forestry in a given social context depends largely on the way the people of that social system perceive its total benefits - an accumulation of biotic, abiotic and social benefits. Thus, the present study in the district of Cooch Behar, West Bengal, envisaged to identify and assess some factors influencing and characterizing the perceived value of benefits of farm forestry. It was observed that the factors: operational holding, land under farm forestry, women's participation and information use index substantively influenced the consequent variable, perceived benefits of farm forestry. The path analysis evinced that the variable land under farm forestry wielded the highest direct effect and the variable women's participation had chanelled the highest number of largest indirect effects to influence the perceived benefits of farm forestry.