Nasar Sidra, Shaheen Hamayun, Murtaza Ghulam, Tinghong Tan, Arfan Muhammad, Idrees Muhammad
Department of Botany, University of Azad Jammu and Kashmi, Muzaffarabad 13100, Pakistan.
College of Agriculture and Forestry Engineering and Planning, Tongren University, Tongren 554300, China.
Plants (Basel). 2023 Jan 3;12(1):213. doi: 10.3390/plants12010213.
Phaseolus vulgaris L. is the major pulse cultivated and culturally inculcated in the food habits of the locals in the Himalayan mountainous region of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan. The current study was designed to investigate the role of P. vulgaris cultivation in providing livelihood support and to evaluate its production and consumption patterns correlated with the household variables in the state of AJK. The socio-economic data was collected from nine bean cultivated areas in six districts of AJK. The data was acquired by administrating a total of 522 detailed semi structured questionnaires from a diverse array of the respondents following the snowball technique focusing on yield, consumption, revenue generation and livelihood support provided by bean cultivation. The results revealed that common bean cultivation provided significant livelihood support to the local mountainous populations with an average annual income of 50.80 $/family. Subsequently, bean production contributed an average annual per capita income of 6.81 $ in the area, which was attributed to the large family size. Local populations showed an average bean production of 33.93 kg/family, whereas the average annual bean consumption was recorded as 31.99 kg/family in the region. Bean crops were recorded to have an average price of $1.49/kg, with significant variations in the study area correlated with local yield. A data analysis indicated a strong correlation in bean production and consumption patterns. Common bean farmers had a very small farm size, averaging 0.24 ha, where 100% of farmers cultivated common beans as an intercrop with Maize as the primary crop. A Pearson’s test (p value < 0.05) revealed significant correlations between land holding and bean production as well as consumption, and bean production with annual per capita income. Small farm size, declining soil fertility, low bean pricing and the unavailability of market mechanisms were identified as the major challenges faced by the common bean farmers. It is recommended to employ an integrated bean farming approach to enhance the economic impact of common bean cultivation in the socioeconomic appraisal of the local populations.
菜豆是巴基斯坦自由查谟和克什米尔（AJK）喜马拉雅山区当地居民种植并融入其饮食习惯的主要豆类。本研究旨在调查菜豆种植在提供生计支持方面的作用，并评估其生产和消费模式与AJK邦家庭变量的相关性。社会经济数据来自AJK六个区的九个豆类种植区。通过采用雪球技术，向不同的受访者发放了总共522份详细的半结构化问卷来获取数据，重点关注豆类种植的产量、消费、创收和生计支持。结果显示，普通菜豆种植为当地山区居民提供了重要的生计支持，家庭平均年收入为50.80美元。随后，豆类生产在该地区为人均年创收6.81美元，这归因于家庭规模较大。当地居民家庭平均豆类产量为33.93公斤，而该地区豆类年平均消费量记录为31.99公斤/家庭。豆类作物平均价格为1.49美元/公斤，研究区域内价格因当地产量而有显著差异。数据分析表明豆类生产和消费模式之间存在很强的相关性。普通菜豆种植农户的农场规模非常小，平均为0.24公顷，100%的农户将普通菜豆作为与玉米间作的作物，玉米为主作物。皮尔逊检验（p值<0.05）显示，土地持有量与豆类生产及消费之间，以及豆类生产与人均年收入之间存在显著相关性。小农场规模、土壤肥力下降、豆类价格低以及缺乏市场机制被确定为普通菜豆种植农户面临的主要挑战。建议采用综合豆类种植方法，以在当地居民的社会经济评估中增强普通菜豆种植的经济影响。
